Howling Hallow
by cheri1
Summary: 10/Rose  Sequel to Leader of the Pack. In the quest to find his friends a new home, the Doctor lands on Luna and learns about a secret hiding place for werewolves. But while he and his friends hunt for it, someone else is hunting them.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the second in a series about Rose becoming a werewolf. The first story is Leader of the Pack.

Chapter One

"Aha! We've landed," the Doctor said to everyone in the console room.

"And where have we landed?" Victoria asked.

The Doctor bent down and stared at his monitor.

"Luna. Nice name for a planet of werewolves," he said.

"So, is this one of the planets where the moon always shines?" Ian asked.

"Dunno, never been here before, this is something the TARDIS found. Having said that, I want to come with you and make sure it's acceptable. My TARDIS is magnificent but she can also be unpredictable at times. Follow me then."

"Unpredictable?" Max said to Rose. "I don't like the sound of that, Pretty."

"Nah, I'm sure it's fine," Rose said, hoping it really was.

The Doctor hurried down the ramp and opened the door. Sunlight flooded the ramp as he looked out.

"So it's no on the perpetual moonlight then," Max said while they followed him.

They followed the Doctor outside and noticed they had landed near a forest. In the distance was a small village and what looked like a bazaar on the outskirts of it. The houses in the village were wooden. Most of them were painted white with brown wood slats spaced evenly on the front. The roofs were made of brown shingles. The village also had a few shops and a church whose spire towered above everything. They could see people moving around, most of them dressed like they were in Medieval England.

"Wait, we're on another planet?" Max said to the Doctor. "The people look like they've stepped out of Robin Hood."

"Well, this might be this particular planet's past. There are many humanoid like species of alien, case in point," he said, pointing to himself. "They might not be humans or they might be humans that have been kidnapped or came from Earth at some point and settled here."

"So, is this a werewolf community then?" Rose said.

The Doctor shrugged.

"One way to find out," he said, shutting the TARDIS door.

"Wait," Rachel said, pointing to her t-shirt and jeans, "we're not dressed like them."

"Never stopped me before. Come on, they'll probably think you're just travelers. Let's go check out this village," the Doctor said, beckoning to everyone.

They walked across a grass field to the bazaar. The booths were all wooden and everyone was dressed in medieval outfits which made Rose feel a bit out of place. She glanced at the Doctor and saw he was unconcerned as they walked between two booths and looked around. Most of the vendors were selling food or clothes or jewelry. They were calling to the people passing by to stop and look at their wares. Rose noticed the Doctor was looking at a booth near the end and she followed him when he suddenly made a beeline for it. Max and his pack watched them for a moment before following.

The Doctor stepped up to the booth and noticed an array of amulets and charms laid out for display. A plump man with balding brown hair and grey eyes walked up to the wooden counter while the Doctor picked up a small medallion and examined it. Rose leaned in and her eyebrow raised when she saw a wolf's head etched into the bronze disc.

"What is this for?" the Doctor said.

"That is for protection from werewolves. Keeps them from coming near you," the vendor said.

Max and his pack shared a look while the Doctor put the medallion on. Rose giggled when he pressed up against her, watching her expectantly to see if she would flee. Rose shrugged when nothing happened and the Doctor took the medallion off and set it back on the counter. His eyes passed over the other medallions and charms.

"So, are all these for werewolf protection?" he asked the vendor.

"No, they're for different supernatural creatures. Why? Do you need protection from werewolves?"

"Well…not really. I actually find them fascinating," the Doctor said, scratching his cheek.

"So you've been to Howling Hallow then?" the man said.

"Um…no, where's that?" the Doctor said.

"Not sure but that's where werewolves live," the man said. "But no one knows how to get to it. No mortal anyway. It's said that a true werewolf can find and enter their secret lair."

"Really?" the Doctor said while Rose shared a look with her friends. "How fascinating. So, no one here has ever found it?"

"No. We're all terrified of the beasts. They do nothing except kill," the man said.

Rose put a hand on Max's chest when she sensed his anger at that. The Doctor was about to say something when the man suddenly looked around and then ducked down. He brought up a small wooden chest, glanced around again and then took a small key out of his pocket. The Doctor, intrigued with the sudden subterfuge, leaned in to see what was inside. The man unlocked the chest, reached in and took out a long strip of brown fur that had been made into a belt. He showed it to the Doctor.

"What's this then?" the Doctor said.

"Wolf pelt. If you're interested in finding Howling Hallow, buy this. You wear it like a belt and when the full moon rises, you'll become a werewolf. If you want to become mortal, take it off and you'll transform back to your normal self."

Rose shared a dubious glance with the others but the Doctor was intrigued. He asked the price and when the vendor said it was twenty credits, he took a credit stick out of his trouser pocket and handed it to the vendor.

"Seriously? You're gonna buy that?" Rose said, pointing to the pelt.

"Just out of scientific curiosity," the Doctor said with a shrug.

The man scanned his stick and thanked him while he put the pelt back in the chest and handed it and the key to the Doctor.

"By the way, do you have anything that'll keep a werewolf from changing during a full moon?" the Doctor asked.

The man ducked under the counter again.

"Wow, he has everything," the Doctor said to Rose.

But when he came back up, he had a piece of parchment and an inkpot and quill. The Doctor watched while he dipped the sharpened tip of the quill in the ink and wrote something on the parchment. The Doctor leaned in, trying to see what he was writing. It was in an alien language that he knew would translate eventually so he straightened up.

"There is an old sorceress that lives in those woods over there," he said, pointing towards the woods. "Her name is Alphaga and she might be able to help you. I have written directions to her cottage."

"Much obliged," the Doctor said, taking the parchment when he finished writing on it.

"And you are coming to fair tonight, I take it?" the man said.

"Fair?" the Doctor said.

"Yes, it hasn't set up yet but they're just starting and it'll be ready by nightfall. It's our annual country fair. It'll be in the field behind these booths," the man said, pointing.

"What sort of things will they have?" the Doctor said.

"Oh, performers, acrobats, things like that. They may have a captive werewolf or vampire or some sort of magical creature, they usually do."

"I see," the Doctor said. "Then we'll have to attend and see this magical creature for ourselves."

"I think you'll enjoy it. I won't guarantee that a magical creature will be on display but most of the time they manage to find one. Good luck and…oh…do you need anything else? Defense against the undead, spell for getting rid of goblins?"

"No, I'm good. Have a nice day," the Doctor said.

The man nodded and the Doctor glanced at his friends before all of them hurried away from the booth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Vampires, goblins, werewolves? What sort of planet is this?" Max said when they were far enough away from the booth. "You brought us to a planet of supernatural creatures?"

"Not necessarily," the Doctor said. "They could be a superstitious lot much like humans on Earth. Just because they have a medallion to protect against Dracula doesn't mean Dracula isn't real."

"What about Howling Hallow then? Is that real?" Rose said.

"You're asking me like I would know. I said I've never been here before. I did say that, didn't I?" the Doctor said to her. "The TARDIS brought us here for a reason so I'm assuming at the moment there is a Howling Hallow. We just have to find it."

"But what about that thing," Rachel said, pointing to chest. "That's not a real werewolf pelt, is it?"

The Doctor handed the chest to Rose and opened it after she took it. He took the pelt out and scanned it with his screwdriver. He read the results.

"This is authentic, it's not a fake," the Doctor said. "Now, whether this is a real werewolf pelt or it's just a wolf, that I can't say."

"And you purchased it because…" Rose said.

"Because I want to run with the wolves but I don't want to make the full commitment," the Doctor said.

The pelt had leather strips on either side of it that had been fashioned into a belt with a metal belt buckles and holes on the other side. The Doctor put the pelt around his waist and fastened it. He then stood there, pointing to it while Rose glanced at her friends.

"And you honestly think that'll work," Max said.

"One way to find out, wait for a full moon and if I get really hairy, you'll know."

The Doctor could tell Max wasn't amused and he sighed through his nose, wishing the man would lighten up and not get so defensive about anything to do with werewolves. He took the pelt off, put it back in the box before Max said something and took it from Rose. He told them he was going back to the TARDIS to put it in his lab for further analyzing but something caught his eye and he slowed down. He handed the chest back to Rose and strolled off towards a booth.

"What's he doing?" Ian asked Rose.

"God only knows," Rose said. "But that booth is selling clothes."

They watched while he purchases several traveling cloaks. Once he was finished, he brought the cloaks back to them.

"Here you go, so we can sort of blend in," he said, passing them out to everyone.

"I thought you didn't bother with blending in," Rachel said.

"Well, considering these people are a bit anti-werewolf, I think it's best not to stand out too much. Besides, traveling cloaks are cool," he said, taking the last one, a brown cloak with a hood, and putting it around him.

Rose set the chest down on the ground and fastened a purple cloak around her. When she was finished, she raised the hood. She looked at the Doctor when he started singing Edge of Seventeen to her. He grinned.

"Sorry, this is very Stevie Nicks," he said, fingering the hem of the cloak. "Especially you with your blonde hair and Britney also looks like her. It's a nice look."

"I like it, I feel very mysterious this way," Rose said.

"Well, I'm glad you like it because they didn't come cheap," the Doctor said, picking up the chest. "So…everyone back to the TARDIS."

"Are we going to that fair tonight?" Ian asked.

"Well, I was planning on it, especially if they have a werewolf in a cage, figured you lot would want to check it out and see if it's a real werewolf or not."

"But if it's a full moon, we'll change and they'll see us for sure," Victoria said.

"That's why I enquired about something that can temporarily suspend the change so you won't be seized the moment you start sprouting fur," the Doctor said.

"So, you want to visit this sorceress?" Victoria said.

"I think so. Perhaps she has some information about Howling Hallow. Catchy name, by the way. If it does exist, is that what the werewolves call it or is that the name this lot came up with. "

"Maybe they hear howling coming from somewhere and called it Howling Hallow," John said.

"But are they werewolves or just wolves?" Britney said.

"That's what we're going to find out," the Doctor said. "So, do you lot want to try to find this sorceress and see if she has some answers as well as something to control your transformations?"

Everyone nodded.

"Let me put this chest in the TARDIS then. I'll take the pelt to Alphaga and see if she can confirm if it's werewolf or not."

"I hope she doesn't turn us into toads or something like that," Victoria said to Rose.

When they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor went inside and set the chest down at the top of the ramp. He took the pelt out and carefully threaded it down into his trouser pocket until it was completely inside it. Then he went over to his monitor while everyone else came inside. He typed something in and stood there looking at the monitor for a few minutes before coming back towards them.

"According to the TARDIS, there's a waxing moon tonight so it should be safe for you to go out tonight," he said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"But…if they have a werewolf at the fair, he or she won't change either, isn't that a bit of a letdown?" Rachel said.

"I'm sure they won't care as long as they make their credits," the Doctor said.

"Probably stole a child in infancy and keeps it locked up and slaps a wolf skin on it wherever they go," Max said with a snort.

"If they did, then the child will mysteriously disappear tonight," the Doctor said as they stepped outside. "Werewolf or not, I'm not letting a bunch of carnies keep a child captive for the amusement of others. So…" he added, taking the parchment out of his pocket. "On to Alphaga then?"

They nodded and the Doctor read the translated directions before they headed into the forest.

"So, who here is a natural werewolf and who was created?" the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder.

"Victoria and Ian are the made ones," Max said, "everyone else is natural…I'm assuming you weren't including Rose in this."

"And the lot who are nautral werewolves, are you descended from Queen Victoria?" the Doctor asked.

"Um, I don't think so, I'm from India originally," John said.

"But Queen Victoria ruled over India and the British had a strong presence there," the Doctor said.

He told them the story of the Scottish werewolf while they walked and everyone listened in fascination until he finished his story.

"Um…" Max said, when he finished. "I'm descended from werewolves and our line goes back to at least the 1600's. Not saying that one of her descendents or someone her descendants might have changed didn't mix with my family but my family's far older than Victoria."

"I'm not sure about my family but they also go back a few centuries," Rachel said. "My mum and dad are from Lebanon though and came to England before I was born so I'm sure we have nothing to do with her."

"I think my mum and dad are the first lycan in my family," Britney said. "So it might be a possibility. I'd have to ask them if I ever see them again."

"Not sure about my family," John said. "It wasn't discussed because my mum's family were shocked when they found out and tried to cover it up. My dad married a non-werewolf but my dad's family line goes back for at least a few generations, maybe more."

"So, you're half werewolf?" the Doctor said to him.

"Yes, but I still change," John said. "I take after my father."

"What about you two," the Doctor said to Victoria and Ian, "how did you become werewolves?"

"Was out on holiday in the woods with my family," Victoria said. "We were sleeping in tents and I wasn't used to that and went for a moonlight stroll to try to tire myself out so I could sleep and I ran into one along the path. He bit me before I could get away but that was it."

"My friends heard about this werewolf that lived in the woods near Surrey where I grew up," Ian said. "We were teenagers and you know how teenagers are…they dared me to go with them to try to find it. Well, we found it alright and we scarpered but I got bit on the leg before I got away."

"And you know my story," Rose said.

"I do?" the Doctor said to her. "Who are you, mad woman? I never seen you before in me life!"

Everyone chuckled while Rose gave him a playful shove.

"If this thing inside this boy was an alien werewolf, do you think it might have come from here?" John asked the Doctor.

"Possibly, there are several worlds that have werewolves on them, including Earth."

"And these daft monks were worshipping him?" Max said.

"Yup. Wanted to put a werewolf on the throne," the Doctor said.

"And they might have done since Victoria suddenly got a rare blood disease and her children had it as well," Rose said. "She was looking at her wrist and when the Doctor asked her about it, she told him it was nothing."

"So, Prince Charles might be a werewolf?" Ian said.

"Never know, eh?" the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder.

Ian looked at the others and there was a titter of laughter.

"If William's a werewolf, I want him," Rachel said. "He's well fit."

"Nah, he has Kate, remember?" John said.

"So, they had mistresses, didn't they?" Rachel said. "I'll be his werewolf concubine."

"So…is that why they named the other kid, Harry? Hinting at the wolf within?" Victoria said.

Another fit of giggles came out among them and the Doctor grinned at that.

"So, any chance I'll be made an honorary werewolf then?" he asked them.

"Um…you mean, you want to become a part of the pack?" Victoria said.

"Well, if you'll have me. I have the pelt now so I can become a werewolf. Plus, I know a werewolf so I have street cred there," he said to them.

"Well, we'll have to have a vote," Ian said.

"Vote away, I'm a patient person," the Doctor said.

He checked the parchment and stopped a moment. He pointed to a large boulder by the side of the trail and told them that they needed to go off trail at the bolder and head right. He beckoned to them and everyone followed him as he went off the path and headed deep into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Nearly there now, I think," the Doctor said as they stepped over a small stream. "Apparently, Alphaga likes her privacy."

"Can you howl?"

The Doctor frowned and looked back at Rachel.

"I'm sorry?" he said.

"You want to be one of us, you have to have a proper howl," she said while Victoria and Britney giggled.

The Doctor beamed at that and gave it his best shot, throwing back his head and letting out an A-ROOO while the girls giggled.

"What'd ya think?" Victoria asked the women.

"Bit weak," Rachel said. "Needs a bit more oomf behind it."

"I could bite him," Rose said. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about this pelt rubbish anymore."

"No thanks, I like being in control of my transformations," the Doctor said. "Besides, my pelt can double as a very interesting belt. Sort of a conversation piece for parties."

Rachel whispered something to Victoria. They giggled and started a whispered conversation. Then Victoria pulled Rose and Britney into the conversation and the Doctor noticed that they slowed up a bit so they could put some distance between themselves and him. The men looked behind at the women who were now whispering and giggling.

"What's going on?" Ian asked Max.

"God only knows," Max said.

The girls ran and caught up to the Doctor. He gave them a quizzical look when they stopped him and gathered around him.

"Okay, we're still debating whether to accept you. We're thinking you're nearly there but you have to do one more thing to be accepted," Victoria said.

"And that one thing is?" the Doctor said.

"Rachel fancies you, give her a kiss and you're in," Victoria said.

Max, Ian and John rolled their eyes while the Doctor looked at Rachel who was now completely crimson in the face. The Doctor was amused at the mortified look on her face.

"Is this some sort of werewolf initiation thing?" he said to the women.

"She fancies you, she said so, kiss her," Rose said.

The Doctor chuckled. He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips while the women cheered.

"So am I in?" the Doctor said to them while Rachel blushed even more.

"Yeah," Victoria said. "And you and the misses can live together forever more!"

Rose, Victoria and Britney ran away, laughing at the shocked look on the Doctor's face. He looked at Rachel who was coughing nervously.

"Um, I hope that really wasn't some sort of werewolf marriage thing because I like you but not that much," he said to her.

"Nah, just havin' a laugh, fellow lycan," Rachel said, patting his hand. "I do fancy ya though, you're fit."

"Why thank you, I fancy me too," the Doctor replied while she giggled.

They walked on. The three men behind the Doctor rolling their eyes at Rose, Victoria and Britney as they ran from tree to tree, giggling and yelling out that Rachel and the Doctor were married now. Then they ran back to the Doctor and Rachel, laughing while they walked beside Rachel.

"I'm happy to be a part of this pack now," the Doctor said. "You lot sure know how to have fun."

"Lycans are the ultimate party animals," John said to him.

"I see," the Doctor said. "And do you prefer Lycan to werewolf?"

"Yes," Max said. "We think that werewolf conjures up the monster from the films so most werewolves prefer to be called Lycan."

"Ah, then I shall do the same, don't want to be offensive to my fellow lycan then."

They fell silent when they saw a small cottage in the distance. It was made of stone and nestled in some trees. Ivy grew over the entire roof so the cottage didn't look out of place in the forest. A large stream ran beside the house and behind it they could see a hen house and a fenced in area. The sound of chickens clashed with the songbirds overhead. It took them ten minutes to reach the wooden front door that was old and slightly warped.

"Like a witch's house in a fairy tale," Rose said to her female friends.

"Wonder if did that on purpose," Victoria said. "You're right, the old witch who lives in the woods, straight out of a fairy tale, if you ask me."

The Doctor knocked on her door and they waited. Then the door opened and they saw an eye peeking through the crack between the door and doorframe.

"Yes?" an ancient voice said.

"Alphaga?" the Doctor said to the eye.

"Perhaps, what do you want?"

"I need something that will prevent a…werewolf from transforming," he said, opting to use werewolf instead of lycan to prevent confusion. "Do you have anything that will do the job?"

"Perhaps," Alphaga said, opening the door a bit more to reveal an extremely lined face.

Everyone except the Doctor was shocked when they noticed her face was a deep yellow with white hair that was stringy and long. Alphaga opened the door a bit more revealing her Stevie Nicks-like outfit of a long black dress and shawl. She stepped outside and studied everyone.

"Who needs it?" she said, looking everyone over.

"Um, they're not here, they're in hiding in case there's a full moon tonight," the Doctor said. "But do you have something that could help them?"

"Perhaps, come inside," she said, waving them in.

"Gee, if go inside, will she put us in a cage and fatten us up for supper?" Rose said to the other women.

They walked inside and grimaced when they walked into heavy smoke coming from a smoking cauldron hanging over a fireplace. The house was dark with one window that had a heavy piece of fabric over it. The only real light was coming from the fireplace. In the rafters above their heads were tied up different dead animals, herbs and a couple of human skulls in a mesh bag.

"Okay, yes, this is very much like a witch's house," Rose muttered to Victoria as Alphaga led them over to a large wooden table near the covered window.

"Where's the cat then?" Britney whispered to them.

"Please sit," Alphaga said to the Doctor.

The Doctor looked but there were only two chairs and since Alphaga sat in one of them, he took the other and shrugged when he looked at his friends. He jerked his head around when Alphaga took his hand and studied his palm.

"You are much older than you appear," she said as she studied the lines on his hand. "You have much wisdom but you can be a bit compulsive and tend to get into trouble."

"Wow, she's good," Rose said.

She and the other girls giggled when the Doctor shot her a look.

"You will live a long life," Alphaga continued.

"Look, no offense but I didn't come here for a palm reading," the Doctor said. "I want to know if you have anything that can help prevent the transformation for a lycan and I have a couple of questions."

He jerked his hand away and Alphaga looked at him in annoyance before she rose from her seat, walked over to her fireplace and retrieve an ancient leather bound book from a shelf beside it. She brought it back, sat down and opened it. She looked at the Doctor while she thumbed through the old yellowed pages.

"Would you like this enchantment in potion form or as a medallion. I can do both," she said.

"Um…medallion would be easier," the Doctor said.

"How many do you need?"

"Um…seven."

Alphaga's gaze shifted to the Doctor's friends and he knew she was mentally counting them. She let out a soft snort and turned another page while the Doctor eyed her.

"You can't fool me, I know it's for them, they have the aura of the wolf around them," Alphaga said to the Doctor as she turned another page. "Just as you have an aura that isn't like them or any other Lunan here."

"Very good, at least we know you're not a complete fraud," the Doctor said. "So…tell me about Howling Hallow then while you look for this enchantment. Does it exist?"

"I believe so, yes," Alphaga said.

"You don't know for sure?" the Doctor said.

"I'm not a werewolf so I wouldn't have access to it but there are werewolves among us," Alphaga said.

"And the people in the village, they capture these werewolves and display them at the fair?" the Doctor said.

"They have done that in the past, yes," Alphaga said.

"And the villagers don't mind seeing a caged creature?" Max said. "No one has ever protested?"

"I do not know, I don't go to the fair. Indeed, I rarely venture out of my house since I too am shunned by the villagers. But the people who live there hate supernatural creatures and anyone like them so I would be careful if I were you, werewolves, or you might end up in the cage."

Alphaga turned the page and stopped. She murmured, "Aha!" and the Doctor stood up, trying to see what was on the page. He felt a hand on his shoulder and felt someone pushing him back down. He sat back down and looked at Rachel who was urging him to sit down.

"Now, now, my husband, it's rude to stare."

The Doctor gave her a wry grin when Rose and the other women giggled. He winked at her and tickled Rachel's chin before he turned his attention back to Alphaga. They watched while she went over to the other side of the room and rummaged around in an old wooden chest. Rose and the other women giggled when Rachel ruffled the Doctor's hair affectionately.

"Now, now, that'll do, misses," the Doctor said, craning his neck back to look up at her.

Rachel gave him a kiss on the forehead and the Doctor grinned when Rose and the other woman laughed at that. The Doctor looked at the men.

"Nice to know I'm not only an honorary lycan but I also have a mate in the pack," he said while Rachel tousled his hair again.

Alphaga walked over to the table and laid seven silver medallions on the table. Then went off into another room to find something else. The Doctor picked one up. The medallion had a hole bored in the top and was hanging from a rawhide necklace. Max picked another one up and turned the disc over in his hands.

"It's blank," he said to the Doctor.

"Maybe she has all purpose medallions that she uses and casts spells on them as needed," he said to them. "I assume she's going to get what she needs for the spell and…you love my hair, don't you, misses?" he said to Rachel who was still tousling his hair.

"Sorry, dear," Rachel teased, patting his shoulder.

The Doctor grinned at the men.

"I love my little wife," he said while the women laughed. "Behind every lycan is a good woman."

John inched over to the book and read what was in it.

"It's in English," he said, surprised.

"The TARDIS does that," Rose said. "It can translate any alien language except Gallifreyan."

"That's why this is in English," the Doctor said, taking the parchment out of his jacket pocket and showing it to John, "even thought that vendor wrote it in whatever language they use here. That's why Alphaga is speaking English as well. The TARDIS translates her language into English and vice versa."

"So, when she hears us, she's hearing her language?" John said.

The Doctor nodded.

"Wow, that's ace," John said, before turning his attention back to the book.

"What's it say?" Ian asked.

"Um, bunch of weird ingredients. Nothing like eye of newt or things like that. It's more like Scapangia brains."

"Scarpangia is a little lizard that lives on Andromeda. Purple with yellow spots, highly poisonous," the Doctor said.

"Poisonous? She's going to make poison?" Ian said.

"Yeah, but she's making medallions," Rose said. "I don't think we're meant to drink whatever she's making."

"Yeah, it says to dip the medallions in whatever the concoction will be," John said. "So even if this…Scapangia is poisonous, we won't be drinking it."

"But what if it gets next to our skin, will it enter through our pores?" Ian said.

"I doubt if she'll make something that'll kill us," Britney said.

"Then again, she said that most of the people here are prejudiced against lycans," Max said. "She said she understood about being ostracized but that doesn't mean she won't try to finish us off."

They fell silent when Alphaga came into the room carrying a mini cauldron. Smoke was already coming from it and they heard it bubbling. John quickly moved away from the table before she reached it. She set the cauldron on the table and dipped the medallions into the bubbling brew one by one. She laid them out on the table and let them dry.

"This might do the trick," Alphaga said when she finished dipping the final one. "Mind you, I've never done this before so I can't guarantee it'll work. You'll have to wait till there's a full moon and try them out."

The Doctor thanked her and asked her how much the medallions cost. Alphaga held up her hand and told him there was no charge.

"I have no need of money, I support myself," she said. "I just ask you to be careful here. Not only the werewolves might be in danger of capture but you…you are unique as well and you might find yourself in a cage along with them."

"Heh, wouldn't be the first time," the Doctor said as his friends took the medallions and put them in their pockets.

They thanked Alphaga and she wished them luck before she showed them to the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

They walked back through the woods to the TARDIS. On the way, Rose had a sudden thought and tugged on his jacket sleeve.

"The pelt, you didn't ask her about it," she said.

"Because I suspect that it is lycan," the Doctor said. "It's a darker color than most wolves have and the hair follicles are also larger than a normal wolf. I have a feeling it's authentic. Now whether or not it'll change me into a wolf, that's debatable. Same for the medallions. I s'pose we'll have to wait and see."

"Well, you better change," Rose said. "Your wife and you need to have a moonlight run together."

They giggled when the Doctor tickled Rachel under her chin while she walked beside him.

"Yes, my misses and I need to have a little moonlight howl and growl," he said before he tried to howl.

The women giggled while Max, John and Ian looked at each other and shook their heads.

"So, this will become a running joke, I take it?" John said.

"What joke, we got married, didn't we?" the Doctor said while Rachel giggled. "I mean, that's how you lot do things right?"

He tickled Rachel under the chin again and Rose patted her on the back when she laughed at that.

"How old are you, by the way?" the Doctor asked Rachel.

"I'm 21," Rachel said. "You?"

"Oh, I'm 902."

Rose laughed when Rachel's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. She looked him up and down while Rose laughed harder.

"You have really good face lifts on your planet," she said while everyone laughed.

"Does that turn you off, my being that old?" the Doctor asked her.

"The way you look, no, I'm cool with it," she said.

The Doctor patted her shoulder and put his arm around her while they walked. When they entered the TARDIS, the Doctor stopped and let everyone enter.

"I'm going to analyze this pelt in my lab. I think I could get more conclusive results there than Alphaga could ever give me. If you need me, ask the TARDIS to direct you there. We'll go to the fair tonight but first we should rest up. In the meantime, Rose, show them around and make yourselves at home. There's a multitude of things you can do in here. Rose will show you."

He ran through the back door and Rose beckoned to the others to follow her.

"So, we have the living room with the TV that gets a zillion channels, the library, swimming pool, park area, rec room, kitchen, bedrooms. Like he said, a million things you can do in here," she said as they walked.

"How big is the TARDIS?" Rachel asked her as they went through the back door.

"I don't know, I don't think the Doctor knows. It goes on forever," Rose said. "I've been here two years and I haven't even begun to explore all the rooms. It just has everything."

"What about a home for us," Rachel said. "Why can't we live somewhere in here?"

"Because I'm sure the Doctor doesn't want us living here," Max said. "He travels around, we'd be in the way."

"No, but…maybe he would," Rose said. "The TARDIS is huge and I think it can make rooms. Maybe it would make a place for all of you. I've seen fake moons in some of the rooms like the park room. It could do that for you and make a room where you could run free without any loonies trying to kill ya."

"Rachel, you just want to stay because you fancy him," Max said. "The man isn't interested in ya. He has Rose."

"I know that, you git," Rachel said, turning and stopping. "That was just a joke. Christ, the Doctor's right, you need to pull that stick out your arse because you have no sense of humor. I'm sure you resent us making him an honorary member of the pack as well since that would threaten your alpha male status, wouldn't it?"

Max glared at her and looked around at his pack.

"Look, I realize I've been a bit uptight but I'm sorry, I don't trust very many non-lycans."

"But the Doctor's different," Rose said. "He doesn't mean any disrespect to ya when he makes a joke. He's trying to fit in. He's trying to be our friend but Rachel's right, you're uptight and I think you're a bit jealous because he's competition and because he likes me. Rachel might fancy the Doctor but you fancy me and you don't like that I want to be with him, especially since I was supposed to be the alpha female, yeah? So, we made him an honorary member of the pack without your permission. It's a joke. Get over it!"

Max turned and stomped back towards the console room while Rose threw up her hands in exasperation.

"He wasn't like this before the Doctor found me," she said. "When he thought he had me all to himself."

"He's like this, Rose, he doesn't like competition," John said. "Trust me; he did the same thing for awhile to Ian and me when we first joined. He suspicious of any newcomers."

"Really? He wasn't suspicious of me," Rose said.

"Okay, let's rephrase that, he's suspicious of any MALE newcomers," Ian said. "Believe me, if there was anyone who ever fit the phrase "Lone Wolf" it's him."

"But the Doctor's not trying to take over the pack, he's trying to help you lot find a place to live. And considering the fact that he usually just leaves right after taking people to a new home, I'd say he's being pretty generous."

"But old habits die hard, Rose," John said. "He has that alpha wolf mentality. The Doctor's got a powerful aura and he feels threatened by it. That's why he isn't as welcoming of him as we are. I couldn't give a fig myself, he's a pretty decent bloke but Max needs time to adjust to him. So don't take anything he says personally, neither should the Doctor. That's just his way."

"He's not the only one, to be truthful," Victoria said. "We all have our trust issues. Comes with being a werewolf. It's not often you find someone as accepting of us as he is and it's a bit of a shock. You tend to be a bit wary and I admit I was at first but I know he's not like other people. Max still has to find that out. Just don't worry about him, Rose, he'll come 'round eventually. So how 'bout the swimming pool? Does he have swimming costumes?"

"Um…yeah, I'll show you were the wardrobe room is," Rose said. "Follow me."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After changing into swim trunks and bathing suits and getting some large beach towels and a beach ball, Rose led her friends to the swimming pool. It was in the middle of a large aquatic center with a spa, sauna and whirlpool. Rose relaxed in the whirlpool while the others used the diving boards and had fun splashing around. But while they were doing that, Rachel was still upset at Max's reaction to the play marriage between her and the Doctor and the fact that he resented him. When no one was looking at her, she got one of the towels, dried off and snuck out. She stood in the middle of the corridor and looked around.

"Um," she said. "TARDIS, can you take me to the Doctor? I wanna talk to him for a moment.

She blinked when the door to the lab instantly appeared in front of her. She walked to it and peeked inside. The Doctor had his back to her while he stood in front of a large machine. The machine was making a humming noise and weird alien symbols were appearing on a monitor on the front of the machine.

"Doctor?" Rachel said hesitantly as she stood in the doorway.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"Ah, the misses," he said with a wink. "Coming to hen peck me about working too hard?"

"Can…I come in?" she said.

"Sure, come here, I'm finishing my analysis of the pelt," he said, beckoning to her. "This monitor is giving me the results. It's in Gallifreyan but it says that the hair follicles contain DNA that is a mixture of human and wolf. So this is definitely lycan."

"So at some point, a lycan was slaughtered and skinned?"

"Yes," the Doctor said grimly. "I'm wondering if that vendor did it but even so, it shows that lycans are not respected here."

"Um…well, that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," Rachel said. "Rose said that the TARDIS is so big that you don't even know how big it is."

"Yes, that's true. She's alive and growing all the time," the Doctor said.

"She also said that you have rooms where they have artificial moons?"

"Yes, I do and…"

The Doctor trailed off when an idea came to his head.

"Rachel, would you be willing to take part in a little test of those medallions?" he asked her. "I can take you to a room with the artificial moon. Hopefully, your DNA won't realize it's fake and you'll change but I want to see if the medallions do work before we step outside. Would you like to help me?"

Rachel nodded.

"Then come, misses, and continue talking while we find a nice moon room."

"Anyway, I was thinking that if you can't find anything suitable," Rachel said as they walked out the door, "that we could live here and the TARDIS could make a place for us."

"Well, you could, I s'pose, but I'd rather you lot lived outside where you can live in a real forest and not live your life in a machine. It's not for everyone, believe me."

"Sorry, it was just a suggestion."

"I know and it's a good suggestion but I think we'll be able to find you somewhere to live without resorting to the TARDIS."

"The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is Max."

She explained the argument and the Doctor sighed when she got finished.

"I'm not trying to replace him as alpha male; I wish he'd understand that. I like you lot and I just want to be friends, nothing more. There is no competition, except maybe where Rose is concerned but Rose wants to be with me and she's told him that. And as for our pretend marriage…it's just a joke and you're right, he needs to lighten up. Still, I can understand all of you being leery of strangers, especially since we've seemed to found more people who love persecuting and killing lycan. That's another reason why I don't think it would work if you came to live in the TARDIS. I don't think Max would go for that."

"Yeah, he's already said as much," Rachel said.

"Hopefully, he'll see I'm not a threat but until then we just have to be patient with him. After being persecuted for so long, it takes a leap of faith to trust a stranger," he said.

The TARDIS moved a room in front of them and the Doctor opened it after telling Rachel to give him the medallion. Once he had it, he smiled and beckoned Rachel inside. The room was a field with a simulated night sky. The Doctor closed the door and knelt with Rachel when the moon made her change. He stayed at her side, offering her encouragement as he did Rose until she changed completely.

"The other reason why I didn't run off and leave you lot is because it's not often one gets the opportunity to be around lycan and not be threatened," he said to Rachel. "You lot are just magnificent."

He patted her head and she wagged her tail. The Doctor knelt down and put the medallion around her neck. He stepped back when almost immediately, she changed back to her human form. The Doctor stood over Rachel in an impressed silence while she looked at her hands in shock and then looked up at the moon.

"It…worked," Rachel said.

"Yeah, it did! Even I'm shocked Witchy-poo was able to pull it off. Which makes me think…TARDIS, could you bring the pelt to me along with a change of clothes for Rachel?"

Rachel gasped when she remembered she was naked in front of him. The Doctor chuckled at that and turned his back when the clothes and wolf pelt appeared behind him. He handed Rachel the clothes and she watched while he put the pelt around his waist. The moment he put it on, he groaned and staggered forward.

"Doctor?" Rachel said, dropping the clothes and going to him.

She watched in fascination while the Doctor changed into a werewolf.

"Oh my God, that works too?" Rachel said, watching while he changed.

She had a thought and took off the medallion. She dropped to the ground and changed back into her lycan form while the Doctor finished his change. The Doctor got up from the ground when he finished and turned to watch Rachel finish up. When she was finished, she got up and sniffed the Doctor. The Doctor sniffed her in return and both of them shared a look before they took off across the field, running full speed on all fours.

_Oho!_ The Doctor thought. _Now I see what Rose was on about, this is wonderful! I do feel freer doing this. _

_That's why I love being a lycan, _Rachel thought to him.

They ran halfway across the field and yipped as they stopped and played with one another. The Doctor rolled in the grass, barking out laughter while Rachel leaped and bounded around him. Then he stopped and tried to stand up on his hind legs. He was a bit unsteady at first but then he began walking around while Rachel walked beside him on all fours. He looked down and noticed that he could still see the leather part of the belt and the belt buckle. He unbuckled it and the pelt dropped to the ground. Immediately he began to change back and Rachel watched while he changed back into his normal self. Once he was finished, he gasped and sat up while Rachel came near.

"I think I'm gonna like being a lycan," he said, petting her, "least we know it works now. Except I'm the one who's naked now," he said, looking down while Rachel barked out laughter. "So, let's get changed, into our normal forms and into our clothes and go tell the others what we've learned."

Rachel nodded and the Doctor scratched her ear fondly before he got up, grabbed the pelt and followed her back to the front door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Doctor took the pelt and asked the TARDIS to move the entrance to the wardrobe room to the park room. He ducked into the wardrobe room first and then the TARDIS took Rachel to the living room where everyone except Max was watching TV. While the Doctor was dressing, he felt the TARDIS trying to tell him about Max sulking in the console room and he sighed through his nose.

"I know, girl, but as long as he doesn't muck with anything, let him be," he said. "If he wants to be angry and sulk, he has that right."

He finished dressing and turned when he heard Rose's voice. She came upstairs with the other members of the pack. The Doctor looked for Max but noticed he wasn't there. He noticed everyone's excitement and he figured Rachel told them about what happened.

"Doctor, bring another change of clothes," Rose said. "We're going to take a change as well. They want to do something for us. Oh, and bring the pelt, that's essential."

Wondering what was going on, the Doctor took the pelt and waited while the TARDIS gave everyone an extra set of clothes. Rose asked the TARDIS to move the entrance to the park room to them as they went down the stairs and they went back inside. The moment they walked under the moon, they began to change. The Doctor knelt beside Rose but she urged him to put the belt on and join them. The Doctor stood up, put the belt on and began to change with them. When everyone was finished, the pack gathered around Rose and the Doctor and nuzzled them. Rachel came up to them while the others fell back.

_I told them what happened and all of us came to a decision,_ she thought to everyone. _You and Rose have been accepted into the pack but we decided to take it a bit further and make you litter mates._

_Litter mates? _The Doctor thought._ And that would be…_

_Well, a pack consists of members who are brought together as a group_, John said, coming up to them._ But for those of us who were natural born and had multiple brothers and sisters, we were raised in a litter the way wolf or dog pups are. To call you a litter mate is to call you our brother and sister rather than just a member of the group. So, if you like, we'd like to think of you as our litter mates and invite you to become our brother and sister._

The Doctor wagged his tail at that and everyone came forward to nuzzle them. The Doctor and Rose nuzzled them in return and then Ian let out a yip of joy and raced off across the field. Everyone else yipped and followed him and they all ran together as a group, feeling the exhilaration of each member of the group as it infected all of them. They ran until they reached a small group of trees and then The Doctor and Rose watched while the others began to play with one another much the same way puppies do. They nipped at each other's ears and playfully pushed each other over and rolled around. The Doctor glanced at Rose with a gleam in his eye and they joined in the fun. The Doctor barked out laughter while Rachel gave him a playful shove with her paw and he rolled over on the grass. Ian nipped at his ear, careful not to break the skin and Rose gently put her mouth on his neck and shook him playfully. The Doctor got up and gave a playful snap at her tail before Rose turned and pushed him down. The Doctor was enjoying himself completely and realized why puppies were so happy playing with each other when they were young. He was glad the pelt worked so he could be a part of the group without actually becoming a werewolf full time.

They played for a bit and then everyone snuggled up and rested. Their bodies intertwined like a litter of pups. The Doctor lay with his head on his paw while Rachel had her head on his back and Rose lay beside him. Ian was curled up on his other side and the Doctor closed his eyes, feeling a primal contentment and peace he hadn't felt in years. He never had much love growing up and certainly never experienced closeness like this. He felt warm and safe with the other warm bodies around him and he flicked his tail lazily while he savored the moment and relaxed. In this moment of love and contentment, he looked at Rose who was resting beside him and felt a wave of love for her. He lifted his head and gave a quick lick to her snout before he quickly put his head back on his paws and snuffled out laughter when she raised her head and looked at him. Then his brow ridge rose when Rose licked his snout and kept on licking, grooming the fur on his nose. The feel of her tongue on his snout filled him with an even deeper contentment and he smiled while he flicked his tail. She then moved to the top of his head and the Doctor opened his eyes slightly, loving the feel of her tongue. While she licked the top of his head, he turned his head and flicked his tongue on her paw, tasting a bit of grass residue on her fur. Rose stopped licking him and put her head down next to his. The Doctor winked at her and she put her cheek against his, rubbing it back and forth. The Doctor lifted his head and did the same. Then he used his snout to guide Rose's head onto his paws. Once her head was resting on his paws, he laid his head across her neck and flicked his tail again.

Then he had a thought and wondered if he could say Rose's name with his actual voice. He tried to form the word with his teeth and tongue. But it came out sounded like "Ra-oo" Rose slid her head out from under his when he lifted it and watched with confusion while he tried again.

"Ra-oo," he said before shaking his head. "Ra-oh…Raw-ohz."

He brightened when he heard something that sounded similar to her name. He looked at her and said, "Raw-ohz!"

_What are you doing?_ Rose thought to him.

_I'm saying your name to you, isn't that obvious?_ He thought back.

The others snuffled out laughter when he said, "Raw-ohz" again and gave a satisfied flick of his tail.

Then Rose snuffled out laughter when he tried saying his own name, except it came out like "Rah-oh."

Blimey, this is hard, the Doctor thought.

That's why you have telepathy, brother, Rachel thought.

Sod telepathy, I want to talk and be a talented lycan.

They snuffled out laughter when he said "Raw-ohz," several times. Then he threw back his head and howled, "ROOOOOO-OOOHZ!"

When he did it again, the others joined in a group howl. When they finished, the Doctor looked at Rose and said something vocally but to her it sounded like, "Raw-ohz, rawh ra oh oo raw rawz."

_What?_ Rose thought to him while the others yipped out laughter.

_I said, Rose, I can speak to you now,_ the Doctor thought.

_Uh, no, you can't,_ Rose said.

The Doctor nuzzled her cheek. Everyone lay back down and rested. But the Doctor was thinking to himself about the events of the past few days. He had his head on his paws but he gave a sideways glance to Rose who had her own head on her paw and had her eyes closed, resting while their bodies were side by side. The Doctor admired her beauty for a moment before he decided on something. He telepathically asked Rachel to take her head off her back and when she did, he got up on all fours and urged Rose to stand up. The others lifted their heads, telepathically asking if anything was wrong. He telepathically told him that he and Rose were going to take a short walk and everyone lowered their heads onto their paws. The Doctor and Rose carefully stepped out of the group, turning around once they were clear. The Doctor started walking and Rose followed beside him. While they walked, the Doctor asked the TARDIS to create a pond in front of them and he smiled when a large pond appeared on the landscape. The Doctor walked up to it and he and Rose stood and stared at their reflections. The Doctor turned his head from side to side, looking at his head.

_Not bad, not bad at all,_ he thought to Rose_. I look brilliant this way._

_Oh no, here goes, the ego has come back,_ Rose thought. _So, was that why you wanted us to come over here, so I could watch you admire yourself?  
><em>

_No,_ the Doctor said, sitting on his haunches_, I was thinking things over. _

_Oh, what about?_

_Well, I was thinking about what Max said about being the alpha male and you the alpha female._

_Yeah? _

_Well, I'm a lycan now and I was thinking that I would like you to be my alpha female. _

Rose was stunned. The Doctor studied her for a reaction.

_You're not the alpha male though,_ Rose finally thought to him.

_I'm the alpha male inside the TARDIS and if you're going to be here with me, it stands to reason that you should be the alpha female, yeah? _

Rose nodded and the Doctor got up on all fours, walked to her and rubbed up against her. Rose returned it and the Doctor walked around her to the other side.

_You see, I know Max fancies you but I got here first and by all rights, you are my alpha female, not his,_ he thought. _Although I suppose I could also think of you as my queen. Because in many ways, you're the queen of my hearts._

Rose felt a lump come to her throat. The Doctor began to groom her neck and Rose closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his tongue on her body. She opened her eyes when she heard the Doctor whisper inside her mind.

_Mine_, he thought to her_. No other can have you, my alpha female. You belong with me. _

Rose's eyes misted over and she turned her head to lick his snout. The Doctor smiled and licked her nose and Rose lowered her head slightly while he groomed her face.

_What about the misses though_, Rose thought teasingly when he finished grooming her.

_Eh, she'll get over me,_ the Doctor thought with a wink_. Besides she's my sister now. So the whole marriage thing is off. _

Rose snuffled out laughter and nuzzled her cheek against his. The Doctor licked her affectionately and they gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before they turned around and walked back towards their litter mates.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Max looked up when everyone else entered the room. They were back to their normal selves, all of the lycan were wearing their medallions and cloaks and the Doctor was wearing his trench coat and had his pelt in his pocket. The Doctor walked over to Max who was sitting on the jump seat.

"We're ready to leave now," the Doctor said to Max. "Are you going to join us?"

Max nodded and stood up. He took his cloak under the seat and put it on and took his medallion out of his pocket. When he was ready, everyone went to the front door and the Doctor opened it and looked out. In the time they'd been gone, a traveling fair had been set up between them and the bazaar complete with a huge circus tent and several cages on wheels with animals inside. It was night but the moon wasn't completely full, although it was nearly there so everyone kept the medallions on for safety. The Doctor let everyone step outside and he closed the door behind him. They put their hoods up and headed towards the cages. Now that they were outside, the noticed a smaller circus tent was behind the large one and there was a large wooden helter skelter behind that along with some game booths and some pony rides. There were many people walking around and they picked their way through them to get to the cages. Inside were several alien animals. They stopped at one cage where a dark purple bear roamed around the small confines, roaring when he saw the people staring at him. The next cage contained a giant lizard that had orange skin with yellow stripes along its back. The lizard resembled a kimono dragon and it flicked its tongue when they stopped to look at it. There was a large bat creature in the next cage the resembled a hairy krillatane and in the last cage was a large white puff of fur that seemed to move by rolling itself around.

"No lycan here," Ian said.

"Maybe they're in one of the tents?" Rachel said, pointing to the big circus tent.

They headed towards it. In the front of the tent was a large opening. The tent flap was pinned back and they walked up to it and looked inside. They saw a tightrope over their heads with a rope below and three rings made out of wooden blocks. There were bleachers on the far left and on the other side was another pinned back entrance. But that was it. They walked around it to the smaller tent. This one had a man standing outside it, urging passerby to come inside and look. They listened for a moment while he rattled off what was inside and they stiffened when he said werewolf child. They looked at each other and walked up to the man. The Doctor pulled out a credit stick and paid for their admissions with it. Steeling themselves they went inside and found they had to walk through wooden barriers that had been put up on either side of the entrance. The barriers went back and forth from one side of the tent to the other and there were display cases and cages on either side of them. The first thing they saw on their right was a display case that held a shrunken body in it. The top half looked like a kitten and the bottom of it looked like a fish.

"What the hell is this?" Rose said, pointing to it.

"That, my dear lady is the Corian Mermaid."

They looked to their right and saw a man enter that was dressed in a plum shirt with forest green hose and black felt shoes. He was wearing a forest green skullcap on his head and had a pudgy face. He also was wearing a black codpiece that was padded until it came out about half a foot from his crotch.

"I am Mardron," he said, bowing. "This, m'lady, is a very rare skeleton of the Corian Mermaid, an elusive creature that lives in the mercury oceans on Corian.

Without anyone asking him, Mardron gave them a guided tour, showing them everything as they walked around the narrow walkway. Most of it was skeletal remains or artifacts from some dig. But the Doctor noticed that there was a covered cage at the very end of the tour and he was able to guess what might be inside.

Finally, they reached the cage and Mardron stepped across the wooden barrier and put his hand on one corner of the purple sheet covering the cage.

"And now for the finale," he said. "A living werewolf child!"

With a flourish, he jerked the sheet off the metal cage. Inside it, on the bottom, was straw and crouching on the straw at the back of the cage was an emaciated little girl. She was Asian with closely cropped black hair that was dirty and matted and had pieces of straw sticking out of it in some places. She didn't look like she was no more than five years old. The Doctor sensed the anger around him and he also had to restrain himself from jumping over the wooden barrier and slapping the gleeful grin off Mardron's face.

"So, how is this a werewolf?" Britney said. "Doesn't look like one to me. Looks like a starving and abused child."

"Well…um, it isn't a full moon tonight, sorry, you'll just have to take my word for it," Mardron said sheepishly. "But this is a werewolf, honestly."

He coughed nervously when everyone glowered at him and pointed to the exit behind them.

"Okay, out you get, next group has to come in, go on," he said, knowing he was in danger of getting punched.

"Come on," the Doctor said when no one moved at first.

Reluctantly, they walked out of the tent. The Doctor looked over his shoulder as he left and saw the pleading look on the child's face. They went over near the Helter Skelter before they spoke.

"What do we do?" Britney asked.

"We can't let that child stay like that; did you see how thin she was?" Ian said. "Even if she isn't lycan, she's still being abused and starved."

"I agree but we have to wait till we can get to her without being seen. We need a diversion. Blast, no full moon tonight, otherwise we could have turned into lycan and scared everyone away.

Rachel come up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Leave it to me, litter mate," she said. "All I ask is…do you have any fake blood?"

"Fake blood?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, something realistic that I can put on my body so I can run from the woods and yell, help I've been attacked by a werewolf. That sort of thing."

The Doctor's eyes widened in understanding and he patted her on the shoulder.

"I think I might have just the thing. Follow me," he said. "Everyone else, we'll be right back."

The Doctor and Rachel hurried towards the TARDIS. Max watched them go and when they were out of earshot, he looked at his pack.

"Litter mate?" he said.

"Yeah, we adopted him and Rose as our litter mates while you were off brooding," John said. "Problem with it?"

Rose could tell that Max didn't like the challenging tone in John's voice and she walked up to him.

"This wasn't mine or the Doctor's idea, it was theirs, so don't get angry at him or me," Rose said.

"He doesn't have the right to get angry," John said. "Rose was welcome into the pack and the Doctor's done so much for us that he deserves to be an honorary lycan. Plus, that pelt of his works so he can become a lycan."

"What?" Max said. "The moth-eaten bit of fur can turn him into a wolf?"

"Yes, he has this magical room that simulates a moonlit night," Ian said. "We went in there and the moon was so realistic it changed us. He put that pelt on and transformed along with us so we decided since he could do that we would adopt him and make him a brother. Come on, Max, surely you aren't that resentful of him. The Doctor hasn't given you any reason to hate him."

Max looked at his friends and noticed they were waiting for an answer.

"I…don't resent him. I just have never had…"

"Competition?" Rose said when he trailed off. "He's not competition. At least not for this pack. He told me he declared himself the alpha male of his TARDIS and made me his alpha female."

Max stiffened at that and Rose sighed.

"Look, I like you as a friend and I know you fancy me but the Doctor and I have been together for a little over a year now and I've grown close to him and he's the one I wanna be with. Can't we just be friends? I don't want to have to choose between you and everyone else. So will you just let me be your friend?"

Max nodded and smiled when Rose squeezed his hand.

"HELP!"

Everyone turned towards the woods when they heard Rachel yell. She was coming out of the woods, fake blood covering her face and arms while she pretended to stagger.

"Help! I've been attacked by a werewolf!" she yelled at the stunned crowd. "There's a werewolf in the woods, coming this way!"

Then they heard a wolf howl coming from the woods and everyone began screaming and panicking while they scattered. Max told everyone to pretend to run away and they headed towards the TARDIS while they screamed. They looked back and noticed that the guide was running out of the tent and the man who had taken admission was running back towards the big top tent. They slowed down and looked at each other before they headed back towards the smaller tent. On the way there, the Doctor caught up to them.

"Quite a performance, eh? Now let's get that child and get out of here before anyone notices!" he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

They ran inside the tent and looked around. To their relief, no one was around except for the child. She looked up at them fearfully as the Doctor went over the barrier and withdrew his sonic screwdriver.

"Don't be afraid," he said to the girl while he opened the door. "We're friends. We're here to rescue you and take you away from these bad people."

The girl cowered against the back of the cage. The Doctor reached towards her and then had a thought.

"Um...if a lycan bites me when they're in human form, will I still become a lycan?" he asked everyone.

"I don't think so," John said. "I've never heard of it happening."

Everyone agreed with him and the Doctor shrugged and came closer to the little girl.

"I won't hurt you. I just want to get you out of here. You don't belong in a cage, will you trust me?"

The girl nodded. The Doctor asked Rose to give him her cloak and he wrapped it around the girl when Rose handed it to him. Once she was wrapped up, he picked her up and went back over the barrier and everyone ran as fast as they could back to the TARDIS.

"Just hold on," the Doctor said. "Hopefully in the confusion, no one will notice you're gone."

They ran as fast as their legs would carry them and after being able to change into a werewolf, the Doctor found himself wishing he could do it at will since four legs would get them to the TARDIS faster than two. Luckily, they made it there without incident and Rose opened the box for the Doctor before all of them ran inside. Rose slammed the door and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The Doctor looked down at the child in his arms. She was staring up at him with deep brown eyes that he found beautiful. He smiled reassurance at her and the child clasped his lapel. Everyone else gathered around him.

"Do you think she's really a lycan?" Rachel asked him.

"Well, one way to find out," the Doctor said.

He told the TARDIS to move the entrance to the park room to the back door. He warned everyone what he was doing as he walked towards it and everyone removed their medallions and capes and laid them on the jump seat before they followed him. By the time everyone got inside the room, the Doctor was already there, comforting the child as she went through the change.

"She's changing into something," the Doctor said while the others followed her and changed into their lycan form.

They watched and waited until the change ended and the child got up on all fours. She was about the size of a medium sized dog. She froze and cowered back towards the Doctor when she saw the other werewolves.

"It's alright," he said to the child as he rubbed her side. "They're friends…well, siblings, to be exact. Blimey, you can feel every rib. Good job we got her away from those bastards."

Rose came close and froze, letting the child venture over and sniff her. The child yipped after she sniffed her and the other women came up beside Rose and sniffed the child. The men stayed nearby in case the child was a bit skittish around men. Max came up beside the Doctor and the Doctor smiled warmly at him while he watched the women groom the child.

_They said you can change with that pelt,_ Max thought. _Can you?_

"You want to see me change?" the Doctor said to him.

Max nodded and the Doctor got up slowly so the child wouldn't be scared and walked away. He went several feet from Max and got the pelt out. Max glanced at the child who was enjoying the grooming and walked over to the Doctor who now had the pelt on and was down on his knees, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out while he changed. Max waited until he finished and then walked around him, looking him over while the Doctor got to his feet.

_It does work,_ Max thought, impressed.

_Yup,_ the Doctor said, shaking his body for a few seconds.

_How do you take it off then?_

The Doctor stood up and showed the belt buckle and belt part sticking through the fur.

_Take it off and hey presto, I'm myself again._

Look, I'm sorry for being an arse lately, I do like you but it's hard to trust people sometimes, especially someone with a lot of presence like you, he thought to the Doctor. _I am sorry, though, for the way I've treated you. Will you still be my friend?_

_Only if you'll be mine,_ the Doctor thought to him.

Max nodded and butted his side gently. The Doctor smiled at that and reached up his hand to pat him on the back. They walked over to the child who was now playing with Rachel while she yipped happily.

_Does anyone know her name? _the Doctor thought to them.

_We haven't gotten that far yet,_ Rose thought. _We're just trying to get her to calm down and trust us._

The Doctor tentatively walked to Rose's side and watched the child while she played with Britney and Rachel, batting at them with her paws. He moved past Rose and put his face near the child. The child stopped playing in mid bat with her paw in the air and stared at him. The Doctor nuzzled his nose against her belly for a few seconds and then pulled his head back. The child stared at him while she brought her paw down and then rolled over and got back up on her legs. She walked to the Doctor while she sniffed him. The Doctor held still while she sniffed his face. Then she nudged his snout with her nose and the Doctor lay down while he held his head as still as he could. The other men came up around him while the child sniffed his face and walked down towards his tail, sniffing him. The Doctor turned his head and watched while she continued down to his tail. Then when she reached it, she batted at it and the Doctor snuffled out laughter as he gently flicked his tail around, watching while she followed it with her eyes and batted at it. The Doctor did that for several minutes until the child grew tired and lay down beside him. Rose shared a glance with the others and they moved in and lay down around her like they did with the Doctor and Rose earlier. Rose lay down beside the Doctor and they watched while the child looked around at the bodies and then snuggled down into a ball in the center of the Doctor and Britney's bodies. They watched while the little girl closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. The Doctor looked at Rose and she put her head across his paws. The Doctor laid his head across her neck and they and everyone else closed their eyes and took a nap with their newest member.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

After a half hour, the Doctor decided to get up. He figured by now the the chaos had died down and he was curious to see what the reaction would be. He had an idea about how to go undercover and observe but he needed to go to his lab first. He rose up but Rose was still resting on his paw and she opened her eyes and looked at her as did Rachel who was lying with her head on his back.

_Where do you think you're going?_ Rose thought to him.

Doing a bit of spying, you and Rachel wanna come? he thought back.

Rose and Rachel glanced at each other and rose to their feet. They followed the Doctor to the door and when he got up on his hind feet and opened it, they noticed new clothes waiting for them across the corridor.

TARDIS thinks of everything as usual, the Doctor thought.

He, Rose and Rachel went into the corridor. The moment the Doctor closed the door, they changed back to their normal bodies. The Doctor took off the pelt and got dressed with the others. Then he put the pelt back into his trouser pocket and beckoned for Rose and Rachel to follow him. They walked to the lab and the Doctor told Rose and Rachel to wait at the metal table in the center of the room while he looked for what he needed. He rummaged through some cabinets while Rose and Rachel pulled up metal chairs to the table and sat down.

"What I'm going to do is construct something called a perception filter," he said, over his shoulder. "It will let us pass among the people and listen without them being aware of our presence."

"How will that work?" Rachel said.

"Well, wait a tic and let me finish getting what I need and I'll explain the basis concept while I assemble it."

He finished getting what he needed and took everything back to the table. While he worked on making three perception filters, he told them about the science behind them and what they needed to do.

"No talking or drawing attention to yourself when you're out there. We're just going to go out there and see if they hold any sort of meeting or hear any sort of gossip about what we just did," the Doctor said while he worked. "I want to know if they have more lycans or if our little friend is the only one."

He finished with his work and passed the keys out to Rose and Rachel. They put them on and the Doctor slipped his on after telling the TARDIS to look after their guests. Whent they went outside, they noticed that the mayhem had calmed down. the Doctor shut the door and the three of them hurried across the field towards a gathering of people near the big circus tent. Several of them had flaming torches and they heard angry voices urging everyone to hunt the werewolves down and exterminate them for good. The Doctor, Rose and Rachel stood at the back of the group and listened to them. The owner of the child was in the center of the group fielding questions and complaints from the angry mob.

"It wasn't my fault, I thought the child was secure," the man was saying to the crowd.

"Well, evidently not since now its on the loose," a woman near the front said. "Why didn't you stay and guard it?"

"Because I didn't want to get bit by the other werewolf," the man said to her. "I value my life, same as you."

"We need to form a search party and search for the little beast!" a man yelled. "And anyone who might be helping her escape."

"Yes, we need to find accomplices!" another woman said. "Is there anyone who helped that fleabag to escape?"

The Doctor smirked when everyone loudly denied helping the child to escape. Then the smirk fell off his face when the vendor who sold him the pelt came forward.

"There was a man who brought a wolf pelt from me and was inquiring about protection against werewolves earlier in the day."

Everyone fell silent while the child's owner did a double take.

"What? Who?" the man said.

When the vendor described him, the Doctor winced when recognition dawned on the man's face.

"Yes, I saw him with several people. They saw the child and were accusing me of abuse just before all this happened. They were the last ones to see the child in the cage."

"Where are they? We need to find the man and question him!" the vendor yelled.

Rose felt momentary panic when the crowd yelled for everyone to find them and began to turn and look for them. The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder and she relaxed when people looked straight through her.

"Find that man and his friends! We need to question then!" the child's owner yelled.

The crowd became louder and more agitated and the Doctor tapped Rose and Rachel on the shoulders and beckoned to them to go back to the TARDIS with him. He hurried back to the TARDIS but by the time Rose and Rachel turned, the crowd was already moving around them and they were hemmed in. Rose gasped when someone accidentally bumped into her and she lost her balance and slammed into a man's back. The man spun around and to Rose's horror, he looked right at her with shock on his face.

"Hey! This is one of them!" the man screamed.

Rose tried to run but several hands grabbed her arms. Rachel growled and tried to push at them despite Rose's pleas for her to run but they grabbed her too. Rachel looked back over her shoulder as they were leading her and Rose away and saw the Doctor standing beyond the crowd, not moving while he watched.

"I'll be back for you and Rose," he mouthed to her.

Rachel nodded and grunted when she was shoved forward with Rose while the crowd forced them to go towads the small tent.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Let go of us!" Rose said while she and Rachel were shoved into the cage the child had occupied.

They looked around at the angry mob who were now taking apart the wooden barricade and surrounding them on all sides. The child's owner came up to the front and glared at the two women.

"Who are you?" the owner said.

"Let us go, we have rights!" Rose said to him.

"I have rights too," he bellowed.

The people grew silent and Rose and Rachel shrank back when he slammed his hand against the bars.

"I had property that was stolen from me and I think you and your friends had something to do with it since you seemed to have a problem with me owning the little beast!" he said to them. "Now what happened to my property and where is the tall, thin man?"

"I don't know and I don't know," Rose said. "I'm not answering questions while my sister and I are trapped in here."

The man looked at Rose and then at Rachel, noting that one woman was Caucasian and the other was Middle Eastern.

"Sister?" the man said to Rose.

Rose glanced at Rachel.

"Adopted sister, okay?" Rose said, annoyed. "Now...will you get us out of here?"

"Where are you friends? Where is that man?" the owner said.

"I don't know. We weren't related to them," Rose said, hoping she sounded convincing.

"What did you do with the child?" the man said.

"I didn't do anything with her. We ran when we heard the wolf howl," Rose said. "I have no idea who took your so-called property. Although I hope whoever did it is taken better care of her than you did."

She gave the man a defiant look when he glowered at her. She hoped that she was stalling for time and the Doctor was figuring out a way to get her and Rachel out of the cage. She glanced around but the crowd was so tightly packed around the cage that she couldn't tell if he was nearby or not. She hoped he was. But in the meantime, she hoped she and Rachel could keep the owner distracted.

"So, what do we do with these two then?" a man asked the owner.

The owner scratched his chin thoughtfully while he stared at his captives. Rose noticed a lustful look in his eyes while he looked his captives over.

"I think I'll keep em," he said.

"What? You can't do that!" Rachel said.

"We're human beings; you have no right to keep us!" Rose said.

"I have every right. I don't believe your cock and bull story about not being a part of all this. My property was stolen and you and your sister are going to work for me in return."

"You mean slaves?" Rachel said.

"Yup, duckie, I mean slaves," the man said, sneering.

"You can't do that!" Rose said.

"ANYONE HERE OBJECT TO ME ENSLAVING THESE TWO WOLF LOVERS?" the man yelled to the crowd.

Rose's blood chilled when no one said a word. The man chuckled.

"See. No one likes werewolves here except for you and your friends," he said. "All those werewolves have done is kill and destroy animals and make off with people. No one but you wants them to roam free."

"What about the others?" the ticket taker said to him.

"Well, they can start to work right away being bait for the others. Perhaps we can catch us some more slaves, eh?" the owner said to his friend, elbowing him.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, trust me," Rose said. "Believe me; you don't want to mess with the tall, thin man."

"Oh, so you admit you know him, eh?" the owner said. "Well, you and your…sister aren't going to see him ever again. You lot are going to my spaceship where you'll have nice comfy quarters…Ralf, Tekka, help me take them to the transmat!"

Rose and Rachel flattened themselves against the back of the cage but it wasn't only the two men but most of the villagers helped to drag them out. Rose glanced around for the Doctor but she still couldn't see any sign of him. She wondered if he was keeping back so no one would see him or perhaps he was keeping to the perimeter and sneaking his way to them when the time was right. He hoped he hadn't been caught by someone and was being held in another place.

They were led outside and Rose and Rachel looked around while they were being led to the large circus tent. Rose let out a sigh of relief when she saw the Doctor standing at the outskirts of the crowd, his eyes on them while he followed the crowd. They went into the tent and Rose and Rachel were held in place while the owner and Tekka ran to the other side and went out the other flap. While they were being held in place, the Doctor walked around the crowd and stopped when he could see them. He smiled and waved when Rose and Rachel looked his way and he put his hands in his trouser pockets and waited for the owner and Tekka to return. They came back in a few minutes later carrying a large silver disc between them. The disc was about two feet thick and had buttons and switches on the base encircling it. They laid the disc on the ground in front of Rose and Rachel and Rose struggled as they forced Rachel onto it. Tekka took a ray blaster out of his pocket and kept it aimed at her while Rachel stood on the disc. The owner pushed several buttons and there was a burst of light that made Rose close her eyes. When she opened them again, Rachel was gone.

"Now her!" the owner said, pointing to Rose.

Rose struggled as they tried to get her to stand on the disc but she stopped when the Doctor walked around the back and nodded at her. Rose allowed herself to step up onto the disc and when the men stepped back, the Doctor got up onto the disc behind her and put his arms around her. Rose stood with him and watched while the owner hit the same sequence of buttons. Then there was a flash of light and she closed her eyes as she felt her body falling apart into atoms.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The moment the light faded from Rose's eyes, two burly men pulled her off the disc onto the steel floor in a steel room. Around the disc were several consoles with a few people standing in front of them. Rose looked over her shoulder and saw the Doctor was still standing on the platform. He smiled and waved at her and Rose had just enough time to smile before she was dragged to the wall. As they approached, the wall slid open and they forced Rose to walk out into a corridor. Rose looked over her shoulder but didn't see the Doctor follow. She wondered if he was waiting till they got a bit further down the corridor before he came out so they wouldn't see the door slide open. Then she heard a high pitched beeping noise and the man on her left took a small black communicator out of his trouser pocket.

"Yeah?" he said.

"We just caught someone else, the sensors detected him. He was with the girl but somehow he got through and onto the transmat."

Rose's spirits sank when she heard that and the two men holding onto her gave each other a surprised look.

"Friend of yours?" he said, jerking Rose's arm.

"Yeah, and he's going to be pissed off that you're doing this to me and my sister!" Rose said.

The door slid open and the Doctor casually strolled out while two of the men at the console had a grip on his arms. The Doctor walked up to the men holding onto Rose and calmly studied them.

"Evening, gentlemen, you have two women that belong to me," he said to the men holding onto Rose. "I see one in front of me but I don't see the other. Where is she? Please return her to me and let her and her sister go."

"How did you get in here?" the man on the Doctor's left demanded.

"I'm very magical. Now…about the women and their return to me? Where is my sister, Rachel, because I will be very cross if you've hurt her and you don't want me cross. So…where did she go?"

"Mates," another man said, coming into the corridor. "I called Brat and told him about this one and gave the bloke's description. He wants him put with the others until he can interrogate him."

"Brat, who's that? The fat, slovenly owner who loves abusing children?" the Doctor said, over his shoulder. "Brat indeed. So where is Brat the brat? Has he come onboard yet?"

Another man came out of the room.

"Brat wants you to take them to the control room and put them in the force field prison with the other woman. He's coming on board to interrogate them."

"What cheek. Brat shouldn't be a brat like that!" the Doctor said before the men took him and Rose down the corridor. "Where is the brat? I wanna give him a piece of my mind and…"

There was another beep and the man pulled out his communicator.

"Yeah?" he said into it.

"This is Major Flak in the control room," a voice said.

"I bet Flak gives brat some major flak from time to time," the Doctor said to Rose.

"We have a problem," Flak continued. "We turned the ship around and when the moon appeared, well…the prisoner has changed into a…werewolf, sir."

Rose groaned when the man's eyes widened before he looked at the Doctor and Rose.

"Hear that? She turned into a werewolf and you said she was your sister. So, does that mean you're also wolves in disguise?"

"Don't know, is Brat really a brat?" the Doctor said.

He grunted when he and Rose were jerked forward down the corridor.

"Prepare the force field prison in case our other two prisoners are werewolves," the man with the communicator said while he spoke to Flak.

"Yes, sir," Flak said.

After a few minutes, they reached the control room. The door slid open and they quickly pulled them both inside. The Doctor could see the moon shining through the huge plate glass window at the front. There were no clouds around it and the night was pitch black so he guessed they were up above Luna. Rose groaned as she began to change and both she and the Doctor were shoved forward. A force field prison was activated around them. Rachel who was in full wolf form was in another prison several feet away. She paced back and forth in her cell and howled in agitation while the Doctor knelt down beside Rose and tried to give her reassurance through the change.

When she was done, the men gathered around the cell and stared at her. Then they looked at the Doctor who hadn't changed.

"You're not a werewolf?" Flak said, pointing to him.

"I am but I'm one of those odd werewolves that only change every other month. I like to be different. Of course I'm not a wolf, you sod!" the Doctor said.

They looked at Rose who was on all fours by his side.

"Why isn't she attacking you?" Flak said, pointing to her.

"She's my puppy," the Doctor said, patting her head.

Rose looked at Rachel and rolled her eyes at that. She turned her attention back to the Doctor when he leaned down in front of her face.

"Aw, my puppy doggy is sweet," he cooed as he put both his hands on her snout. "I love me puppy doggy! Smile, Rose!"

The Doctor looked at the men while he gently lifted the sides of Rose's mouth exposing her teeth.

"See, she's smiling for you," he said before he lowered the sides and looked at Rose. "Isn't that right, my puppy doggy. You smiled for the nice men!"

_You are completely barmy, you know that_? Rose thought to him.

"She's a sweetie but she needs a little pink dog bow for her hair," the Doctor said to the men.

He smirked at their shock.

"What's wrong? Expect her to rip me to pieces, eh? Perhaps I know more about werewolves than you do," he said to them. "As you can see, gentlemen, she's not doing a thing except standing there. Completely docile. Now…about the child abuse your boss was heaping on that poor little girl who probably didn't do anything to him either…"

Communicator Man interrupted him when there was more beeping and he pulled his communicator out.

"Yes, sir?" he said into it.

"I'm onboard and heading for the control room. Are the prisoners contained?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are they werewolves?"

The man glanced at the Doctor. He waved cheerfully in return.

"Well, two thirds of them are, sir. The tall skinny man didn't change."

"What's he doing?"

The man looked at the Doctor. The Doctor took a small licorice button out of a sack that was in his pocket and balanced it on the end of Rose's nose.

"Ta da!" the Doctor said when it didn't fall off.

"Um…he's putting things on the werewolf's nose," he said while Rose flicked the licorice into the air and snapped her jaw around it.

"He's doing what?" the man said.

The Doctor snickered at the shock in the owner's voice. He scratched Rose's head while she swallowed the licorice.

"More, my dove?" he said to her as he took another button out and put it on her nose.

Rose flicked it up and ate it while the Doctor popped one in his mouth. He looked at Rachel who was standing her cell, watching everything quietly.

"Sorry, Sis, I can't get over there and give you licorice, otherwise I would," the Doctor said, holding one up.

_Rose is right, you are barmy,_ Rachel thought to him.

_And you lot love every minute of it,_ the Doctor said as he popped another button in his mouth.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The Doctor continued to eat his licorice, enjoying the looks of consternation on his captor's faces. He knew they were puzzled over what Rose wasn't attacking him and he loved that he was confusion the heck out of them.

"So," he said after swallowing the sixth licorice button, "s'pose you want to know why these werewolves are docile?"

"Why?" Flak said.

"I'm their trainer," the Doctor said, reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out his psychic paper, opened it and showed it to Flak. Flak frowned while he read it.

"Cornelius P. Pomperjay, wolf trainer?" he said to the Doctor after reading it.

"Yup, that's me. Pomperjay's Pretty Pets, that's my act. These werewolves have been hand raised by me since birth. This one's mother was savaged by a pair of grotty werewolves and her belly was ripped open. I found the baby near the mother, scared away the beast, took her home and brought her up. Sadly the mangy beast tried to eat poor Rose here and bit her arm but I saved her before she could be devoured. I pondered over what to do with her and then it came to me, I would train her and find other werewolves so I could put together an act that would raise money for their room and board. That's how I found Rachel there," he added, pointing to his sister. "She was bitten as a toddler after her parents were killed and I rescued her and put her to work. Since then I've added several to my show and I'm always looking for more."

"But you said they were your sisters," Communicator Man pointed out.

"Yes, well, they adopted me into their pack so I became a brother of sorts. They trust me, you know. Years of intensive training does that. Observe. Rose!"

Rose looked up at the Doctor.

"Sit, Rose!"

Rose sat on her haunches.

"Up! Up!"

Rose raised her front paws and begged like a dog while the Doctor took a licorice button out and gave it to her.

"They're partial to sweets," he said to the men. "Rose, up, up!"

The men gasped when Rose stood all the way up. The Doctor fed her a button while Rachel snuffled out laughter. He fed her another button.

"Rose, open your mouth wide!"

Rose opened her mouth and tried not to laugh when the Doctor stuck his head halfway in. He took it out, fed her a button and commanded her to sit.

"See, years of training have produced a docile, trained wolf," he said as he rubbed the back of her head.

The door opened and Brat came into the room. The Doctor continued to stroke the back of Rose's head while Flak and the men hurried to him to tell him what they saw the Doctor do. When they finished, Brat walked over to the Doctor.

"You train werewolves?" he said.

"Yes, I'm known informally as the Werewolf Whisperer," he said to them. "As you can see, Rose here is under my control and will do anything I ask of her. Rose, up!"

Rose got up on her hind legs and the Doctor urged her to stand. Then he told her to give us a kiss and the men watched in astonishment while Rose licked his cheek a couple of times.

"Sit!" he said while Rose sat back on her haunches. "See? Complete obedience."

He showed Brat the psychic paper and he read his title off of it.

"So, why did you steal my child if you have wolves of your own?" Brat asked him while the Doctor put his psychic paper back in his pocket.

"I apologize for that. Force of habit. See, I'm always on the lookout for new talent and I saw your child and couldn't resist. You have to start when they're children, you see, for the conditioning to fully take hold. I work with them to take the feral nature out of them and make them as playful and docile as kittens."

_Rose, is he making up all this off the top of his head?_ Rachel thought to her.

_Yup, he's an expert at bullshit,_ Rose thought back.

The Doctor kept a straight face when he heard that and scratched Rose's head in response.

"So, you're here to show off your wolves at the fair?" Brat said.

"No, I'm here to find the legendary Howling Hallow. I want to see if it's real and perhaps if I can harvest a pup or two. Know anything about it?" the Doctor said.

"Only the legend," Brat said, shrugging. "I have no clue where it might be."

"Where did you get the child from?" the Doctor said.

"From here."

"Here, on Luna? My God, man, do you realize that the child might know where Howling Hallow is?" the Doctor said. "You've been abusing this child and she might have valuable information for us. Are you insane?"

Rose and Rachel shared an impressed look when that gave Brat pause.

"I...uh...wasn't thinking about that," he said, sheepishly.

"Well, thank God, I was. Couldn't you imagine it? Finding the legendary lair of the lycan? Perhaps not only ridding ourselves of the pests but also harvesting some for sale and training. We could make a fortune!"

Rose and Rachel saw a gleam in Brat's eyes while he thought that over.

"If we work together, you and I, we could find it," the Doctor said. "I can use my wolves as trackers and..."

He pulled the pelt out of his pocket.

"I purchased this from you in the hopes of disguising myself so I won't be detected if we find it," he said.

_My God, the man should be a writer. This is all coming off the top of his head?_ Rachel thought to Rose.

_I am a writer. I've helped many writers finish their books,_ the Doctor thought to her. _It helps to be a genius, you know._

"So," the Doctor said to Brat, "what do you say? Want to team up and try to find Howling Hallow?"

Brat and his men shared a gleeful look and Brat nodded.

"Yes, Mister...uh..."

"Cornelius," the Doctor said, holding up his hand. "No formalities between partners, right?"

"Cornelius. I am Severus."

"Snape?"

"I'm sorry," Brat said when the Doctor blurted that out.

"Nothing, I have a bit of Tourettes, sorry."

Rose held her laughter in when Brat gave him a confused look. The Doctor ignored it and pointed to the prison.

"So, will you let your partner out then?" he said to Brat.

"What about them?" Brat said, pointing to Rose.

"They are under my complete control, you'll have no trouble from them," the Doctor said.

Brat ordered Flak to release them. He walked over to the console in front of the window and pushed a button.

"There. You're free," Brat said to them.

The Doctor beckoned to Rachel and she came to his side. He directed around to his left side and commanded her to sit. Rachel looked at Rose who was sitting on his right and the two of them looked up at the Doctor who patted their heads and fed them some licorice.

_And now, my doves, we have some freedom to find Howling Hallow,_ he thought to them.

_Yes, but what about him?_ Rose said, jerking her head slightly to Brat. _He's going to be tagging along now._

_Yes, my alpha female, but as they say, keep your friends close and enemies closer,_ he thought.

"So, now what happens?" Brat said.

"Now, you'll let me go back down and try to talk to the child. She won't respond to you since you've been beating and starving her but let me work with her and we'll be able to get the location of Howling Hallow in no time."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

When they transmatted back to the surface of Luna, the Doctor waited while Rose and Rachel transformed back to their normal selves. Brat watched warily while Flak went to calm down the angry villagers and assure them everything was under control. The other men stayed on the ship which relieved the Doctor since he didn't want a bunch of them following him around. When Rose and Rachel finished, they covered their private parts. The Doctor took off his jacket and shirt. He gave the jacket to Rose and the shirt to Rachel.

"Sorry, it won't cover you completely but it'll have to do until we can get back to the TARDIS," he said softly to them.

He noticed with some relief that the perception filters survived the change and were still around their necks. He was glad since he didn't want to create new ones with each change.

"So, where is the child then?" Brat asked the Doctor when they were finished.

"This way. Rose, Rachel, come," he said, gesturing to his lover and sister.

Brat followed them to the TARDIS. His mouth dropped open when he went in and saw the interior. The Doctor sighed when he rushed back out to look at the box and rushed back in.

"How is this possible?" Brat said.

"I told you lot I'm magical," the Doctor said while Rose and Rachel tried not to laugh. "Now if you'll wait here..."

"No, I'm coming with you, I want to see my property," Brat said.

"Very well, follow us," the Doctor said.

While he walked, he telepathically gave some instructions to the TARDIS. He, Rose and Rachel went through the back door first and the TARDIS quickly switched it so Brat entered another corridor. Then she kept him walking in circles through the corridors while the Doctor, Rose and Rachel went to the park room. The moment they entered, Rose and Rachel began to change and the Doctor took out his pelt, put it on and joined them. Once they were finished, they walked over to their family who were over by the pond playing with the child.

_Find out anything about her?_ the Doctor thought to them.

_Her name is Shen,_ Ian thought back when everyone greeted each other with nuzzling. _She won't say anything else but we got her to play with us. _

Rose and Rachel explained to them what happened and what the Doctor's plan was while the Doctor walked over to Shen. She noticed Shen's fear so he lay down on the ground so he wouldn't appear so intimidating and wagged his tail in a friendly gesture.

_Shen, I'm the Doctor, I won't hurt you,_ he thought to her. _I'm the one that rescued you. Can you come and say hello?_

Shen tilted her head and gave him an uncertain look while the Doctor wagged his tail. Then she slowly came to him and the Doctor held still while she sniffed his face.

_No one's going to hurt you here, Shen. I won't hurt you, I want to be your friend,_ the Doctor thought to her. _Where's your mum and dad at? _

Shen hesitated a moment and the Doctor licked her cheek to give her reassurance.

_Mum and dad are home,_ he finally heard her say in a very soft thought.

_At Howling Hallow?_ the Doctor thought.

Shen nodded.

_I want to take you home to your mum and dad but first we have to trick the bad man who hurt you. Will you trust us? _

_I don't want the bad man to hurt me,_ Shen thought, shrinking away from him.

The Doctor rose, walked over and lay down beside her.

_Do you see how big I am and see my big paws and claws?_ he thought to her. _I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise that. _

He smiled when Shen came to his face and nuzzled it.

_Do you wanna help me trick the bad man so he can be caught?_ the Doctor thought as he nuzzled her.

Shen nodded.

_Then you'll have to trust us, okay? We want to capture the bad man so he can be punished for what he did to you and we want to take you home but you're gonna have to listen to us and play along so the bad man won't suspect anything. Can you do that? _

Shen nodded and the Doctor smiled when she licked his cheek.

_How old are you?_ he asked.

_Four. _

_Four? You're too young to be in a cage. We need to take you home to your mummy and daddy so you can be loved by them._

_Are you coming home with me? _

_Me? Nah, this is my home. But most of the people here might go home with you, would you like that? _

Shen looked at the other wolves and yipped happily when they came over and surrounded her. He looked around when Rose nipped at his ear.

_Wolf Whisperer?_ she thought to him.

_None other,_ the Doctor thought back. _We just have to hope Shen is brave enough that she won't give our secret away. In the meantime, let's go get changed into our bodies and some clothes and let poor Brat get out of the labyrinth the TARDIS put him in._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

When they emerged from the room, the TARDIS supplied them with clothes. The Doctor looked at the clothes the TARDIS had for Shen. There was a white t-shirt, blue jean overalls, underwear, socks and black trainers. While he was sorting through them, he felt a hand on his bare back. He looked over his shoulder and saw Shen was behind him, thumb in her mouth while she watched what he was doing.

"Thumb sucker, eh?" I used to suck my thumb when I was small," he said to her.

"You did?" Rose said, coming up to him. "When was that?"

"When I was a day old, then I stopped when common sense kicked in," he said.

He snickered when Rose swatted his head.

"This is Rose," the Doctor said as Rose knelt down beside Shen.

"Hi, sweetie," Rose said, holding out her hand.

Shen stared at it for a second and then took it. She sucked on her thumb while Rose guided her to her body.

"Let's get you dressed and let the Doctor get dressed, okay?" Rose said to her.

Shen nodded and the Doctor dressed while Rose helped Shen get into her clothes. Rose could tell by the way she squirmed and frowned that it wasn't something her people normally wore. Once she helped get the shoes on and tied them, Shen sucked her thumb and pulled at her clothes while she examined them. The Doctor smiled and knelt down beside her.

"Hey, Thumb Sucker," he said, giving her a poke on the stomach, "are you hungry?"

Shen nodded.

"Have you ever had ice cream?" the Doctor said.

He could tell from the confused look on her face that she hadn't. Shen shook her head.

"No?" the Doctor said. "Four years old and never had a drop of ice cream? That's a crime. Come on, let's get you some and perhaps some biscuits. We'll leave Snape wandering the corridors for a bit, let him tire himself out. Come with us and we'll get you something for your tummy."

He stood up and held out his hand. Shen sucked her thumb and gave him his free hand. He smiled tenderly at her and everyone followed him as they headed towards the kitchen.

"Max," the Doctor said as they walked.

"Yes?" Max said.

"Is thumb sucking normal at this age?" the Doctor said to him while they walked.

"It's not normal for lycan at any age. She's been traumatized and seeking comfort in the absence of her parents," Max said angrily.

"Then we need to get her back to her family before that git traumatizes her even more," the Doctor said.

They went into the kitchen and the Doctor let go of Shen's hand to go get the ice cream but Shen followed behind him. The others giggled when the Doctor looked behind him with mock surprise.

"I have a new shadow," he said as he opened the freezer door, "you Vashta Nerada? If I feed you, you won't eat me, right?"

"Poor thing," Rose said when Shen grabbed onto the Doctor's trouser leg while he pulled out a box of chocolate ice cream. "I'll be glad when we get her back to her family."

"I know, the poor thing's so scared," Rachel said. "She needs her mum and dad badly."

The Doctor turned around with the box of ice cream. He bent over and looked at Shen.

"Wotcha?" he said to her. "Got ice cream for my little Vashta Nerada."

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Rose said.

The Doctor explained what it was while he walked over to the kitchen counter. Shen followed him and when he stopped, she grabbed his trouser leg again. The Doctor scooped some ice cream into a bowl and then reached into the cabinet for some chocolate chip biscuits. He put those on a tiny plate, put a spoon in the bowl and then smiled at Shen before he walked over to the kitchen table. He pulled back a chair and pointed to it when Shen walked up. They chuckled when Shen grabbed his trouser leg and the Doctor took the bowl and showed it to her. Shen stared at the bowl and then let go of his trouser leg. The Doctor put the bowl on the table and she sat in the chair. The Doctor pushed the chair up to the table and Shen took her thumb out of her mouth and began to eat. The Doctor smiled when Shen kept his eyes on him while she ate.

"So, you're going to lead this guy to Howling Hallow?" John said.

"Yes. Perhaps the lycan there can show him some form of justice," the Doctor said.

"More than likely they'll rip him to shreds," Max said. "I would."

"But then the lycans would be the beasts everyone makes them out to be. I think they'd be a bit more civilized than that. You said yourself that people get it wrong when they said that werewolves are mindless killers."

"Yes, that's true, but we also have our forms of justice and ripping apart a child abusing slave owning git wouldn't be seen as a mindless beast action," Max said. "Children are protected and loved in lycan society and abuse is taken very seriously and the penalties are severe. I'd think long and hard before you handed him over to these lycans at Howling Hallow, especially if you don't want him torn limb from limb."

"I'll keep that in mind and..."

The Doctor trailed off and bent over when he felt a tug on his trouser leg. He smiled at Shen who had finished eating and was back beside him with thumb in mouth. The Doctor leaned back up, held out his arms and Shen took her thumb out and held out hers. The Doctor picked her up and held her close while she rested her head on his shoulder and put her thumb back in her mouth.

"So...should we get Snape out of the maze?" the Doctor said to everyone.

"Are you sure he won't try to take her back?" Victoria said.

"He does and I'll be the one pulling him limb from limb," the Doctor said.

They walked back to the console room and when they got there, the Doctor set Shen down on the floor and instructed the TARDIS to bring Brat back to the console room. Shen put her thumb back in her mouth and held onto his trouser leg. But the moment Brat emerged from the corridor, dazed and confused, Shen shrank back behind the Doctor and all of them gasped when they heard a tinkling sound and saw urine coming out of her trouser leg. The Doctor was livid with rage when he saw the terrified look on Shen's face and he knew she'd urinated from fear at the sight of her captor. Everyone gathered around her while he knelt down.

"You're safe, Shen, no one will let him touch you, yeah?" he said to Shen who was staring at him with thumb in mouth and wide eyes.

Rose and Rachel comforted her while the Doctor stomped towards Brat.

"Hey, where'd you go? I lost you and walked around these hallways and..."

He gasped when the Doctor seized his shirt and brought him close to his enraged face.

"She just urinated on herself at the sight at you!" the Doctor snarled at the startled man. "What have you been doing to her to make her fearful enough to wet herself? Because she is just a child, werewolf or not! And if you've harmed her mentally, I'll harm you physically, is that understood?"

Brat looked at his enraged face and dark eyes and nodded dumbly. The Doctor let go of his shirt and glowered at him before he walked back to Shen. Brat found he was actually shaking a bit from fear and he began to wonder who this man was that could fill him with that much fear just by yelling at him. He knew he'd have to be cautious around him because he really didn't know what the man was capable of.

"Shen, it's alright," the Doctor said when he knelt down beside her. "We're gonna get you a change of clothes and you stay by us, yeah? He won't hurt you."

Shen nodded. Thumb in mouth, he reached out for the Doctor and he picked her up. Brat stepped back away from him when he gave him the Doctor gave him a look of death and he took Shen out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"There ya go, all better," the Doctor said when he finished dressing Shen in clean clothes.

He smoothed out her hair and took her hand when Shen held it out.

"I won't let the bad man put you in a cage again, you hear me?" he said. "You don't have to be afraid now. You have friends here that love you and we'll protect you from him."

Shen took her thumb out of her mouth and the Doctor smiled when she kissed his cheek. He kissed her cheek in return and thanked her. He stood up, took her hand and she walked with him as they went back to the console room. When they entered, the Doctor was relieved to see that his friends weren't harmed and Brat was keeping his distance from them. He watched Shen while they walked past. Shen was staring at him with wide eyes and thumb in mouth but didn't wet herself and kept walking. They reached the others and the group surrounded her and kept her apart from Brat while the Doctor turned back to him.

"So, now we have to try to found out where Howling Hallow is and I hope you didn't traumatize her to the point that she won't tell us anymore," the Doctor said to him.

"She's just a beast..."

"SHE'S NOT A BEAST!" the Doctor yelled.

He quickly dampened his anger when he heard Shen begin to cry. Brat was stunned into silence while the Doctor turned and walked over to Shen.

"I'm sorry, Shen, I didn't mean to get angry," he said, taking her hand as she sniffed and stopped crying. "Listen, can you help us find Howling Hallow?"

Shen looked over his shoulder at Brat. The Doctor glanced back at him and put his hand on her cheek.

"He won't hurt you," the Doctor said.

"Doctor," Max said. "Is there a way to turn off this language translation thing?"

"I can ask the TARDIS to do it, why?"

"Well, there's a sort of universal lycan language. We can talk to her with that but if your ship is translating everything..."

"TARDIS, don't translate the lycan language," the Doctor said.

The TARDIS grunted an affirmative and when the Doctor assured Max that she wouldn't, Max spoke to Shen in the lycan language. The Doctor listened in fascination. It was a sort of gruff language with some growling in places and a bit of a howling inflection on the O's. Rose knelt down beside him and he glanced at her.

"Can you understand him?" he asked Rose.

"Yeah, I can, must come with being bitten. You?"

"I understand all languages," the Doctor said.

He listened while Max asked Shen if she would take them to see her mum and dad. Shen thought for a moment and then nodded shyly with her thumb still in her mouth. Max looked at the Doctor.

"Can she keep it switched off permanently? I mean, it's a way to talk amongst ourselves without the git cottoning on," he said to the Doctor in lycan language.

The Doctor glanced up when the TARDIS grunted and told him in the lycan language that she would do that.

"Wow, you're pretty fluent for someone who isn't a true lycan," John said to him in lycan language.

"I speak every language in the universe. It's one of my many talents."

Rose giggled when the others glanced at each other in wonder.

"I wish I had that talent," Victoria said in lycan language.

"What are you saying to each other?" Brat said as he came close.

The Doctor got up and intercepted him before he came too close to Shen.

"They're communicating in the werewolf language and I was speaking with them."

"You know the werewolf language?" Brat said.

"Yeah, I do," the Doctor said smugly. "They taught it to me. That's what comes from gaining their trust. She told us that she will take us to Howling Hallow."

Brat let out a whoop and Shen shrank back against Britney who held her protectively.

"Arsehole," she said in the lycan language. "Can't wait to get his hands on our kind. I hope he does get pulled apart."

The Doctor made a show of ordering everyone to stand. The others glanced at each other and stood up.

"Come," the Doctor said in English before heading towards the door.

"Wait, aren't you going to take your ship?" Brat said. "How are you going to store the werewolves once you capture them?"

"I have my ways, now come," the Doctor said.

They went outside and waited for him to emerge. Brat looked up at the waxing moon when no one changed. Rose noticed it as well.

"We were near a full moon when we were in space," she said to Brat, pointing up to it. "Where were we then?"

"Other side of the planet away from the shadow side," Brat said. "There's a moon on both sides of the planet. We stopped just before entering Luna's atmosphere and transmatted everything down."

"So, how long have you been coming here then?" the Doctor said to him while the walked into the woods.

"Me? Several years but my family has been in this business for several generations. However, I'm the first one to come to Luna."

"Oh? Why is that?" the Doctor said.

"Because that village didn't exist until five years ago," Brat said.

"Wait," the Doctor said, stopping him. "So the werewolves were here first?"

"I think so, if Howling Hallow even exists, that is," Brat said.

"Then the TARDIS might have been correct in determining that this planet is perfect for werewolves but she didn't know about the others moving in and building their village.," he said to the others in lycan language.

"What are you saying to them?" Brat said.

"Warning what will happen to them if they try to run away," the Doctor said to him without missing a beat. "Anyway, go on with what you were saying."

"So we need to get the villagers to leave?" Max said in lycan language.

"What did he say?" Brat said to the Doctor.

"He said, yes, master. Now go on with what you were saying."

"I'm just saying that this planet wasn't colonized until the Lunans came here," Brat said.

"Okay, what were they called five years ago since they weren't Lunans then," the Doctor said.

"No, they were Lunans. they were fleeing the original Luna because the planet was dying and the survivors spread out across the stars and some of them found this place and colonized it."

"And pushed the werewolves off their own land?" the Doctor said.

"I s'pose. It wasn't like they were making any use of it."

The Doctor heard Max growling softly at that but he decided not to argue that point. Instead, he stopped Brat and walked back to Shen who was between Britney and Victoria. Shen brightened and came towards him, thumb in mouth, and the Doctor swept her up and spun her around. He was pleased when Shen took her thumb out of her mouth and giggled at that.

"Hey, Thumb Sucker, made ya smile and giggle at last," he said to her in the lycan language. "Will you come up here with me and help guide us?"

Shen nodded and the Doctor gave her a huge kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry about the bad man, I'm right here, you just guide me to your mum and dad, yeah?" he said to her in lycan language as he walked back to Brat's side.

Brat watched while he put her down beside him. Shen glanced up at him with wide eyes but the Doctor spoke to her in lycan language and got her attention off him. He asked her to lead him and Shen held out her hand. The Doctor took it and everyone followed while she led them deeper into the woods.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Brat was becoming impatient. He was following behind the Doctor and Shen watching closely while Shen led the way to Howling Hollow but the child kept stopping them ever so often when something of interest caught her eye and she had to point it out to her new friend. His irritation grew when the Doctor indulged her and seemed extremely fascinated whenever Shen showed him something. Finally, he came to the end of his patience.

"Can't you make her lead us to Howling Hallow without stopping every five seconds to show you bugs?" he growled at the Doctor.

"No, because the child will take her time," the Doctor said, spinning around while Shen hid behind him. "You abused the poor thing enough. I'm trying to gain her trust and if that means stopping to look at bugs then I will. You got that?"

Max and the others grinned when Brat nodded at that and fell silent. The Doctor gently coaxed Shen to go on and she did after giving her former jailer one more frightened look. She took the Doctor by the hand and walked on. She noticed a small purple caterpillar on a tree and was about to stop and point it out to the Doctor but she got cold feet, remembering how angry Brat got with her so she went on. She led them deeper and deeper into the forest and the trees became denser and denser until they had to climb over roots and step through undergrowth while they kept to the path.

"Are you sure she knows the way?" Brat said after nearly tripping on a raised root that he barely saw in the dim light that barely made it through the thick canopy of trees above him.

"No, but I'm letting her guide us," the Doctor said to him. "She seems sure of the way and I'm going to trust her judgment right now."

He stopped when Shen let go of his hand. They watched as she went off the path and everyone followed her. They stumbled through the underbrush while they noticed that Shen was nimbly stepping over everything. That was a sign for the Doctor that she knew where she was going and was definitely leading them in the right direction. Then she stopped in front of a large boulder and looked at the Doctor while she pointed to it.

"Here?" the Doctor said.

She nodded and everyone looked around for any sign of habitation but in the dimly lit forest they couldn't see much. Then to the Doctor's amazement, Shen put her fingers under the boulder and without any effort lifted it up. She pushed it until it fell back like a door on a hinge and the Doctor examined the rock.

"It's fake," he said, rapping his knuckles against it. "Some sort of plastic. So that's how Howling Hallow's managed to remain hidden, eh?"

Shen pointed into the hole underneath the rock and the Doctor shined his torch on it and saw wooden steps going down. Shen went down without any light and the Doctor figured she had excellent vision, being a werewolf and all. The others followed her down into a narrow dirt corridor. Shen walked up ahead of them, not looking back at them but walking with a singleminded purpose. The tunnel was narrow and claustrophobic and the Doctor had to stoop slightly just to fit in it. After five minutes, Shen looked back to see if she was still being followed.

"Right behind ya," the Doctor said.

Shen pointed ahead of her and turned her head back around. As they went further down the corridor, Brat began to get nervous.

"Shouldn't we go back and get some weapons?" he said to the Doctor. "If we're going into a den of werewolves, shouldn't we be armed?"

"No. Because the moment they see the weapons they'll rip us to shreds," the Doctor said. "We're going to trust that Shen will vouch for us once we reach Howling Hallow."

"Yeah, whatever," Brat muttered, angry that this strange man seemed to take control of everything including his prized pet.

They walked for five more minutes before Shen stopped them. She reached down, grabbed a looped rope embedded in the floor and pulled up another door. She told everyone to wait in lycan language before she went down. Brat started to follow her but the Doctor grabbed his shirt.

"No, she said to wait," he said to Brat.

"But what if she gets away? Did you ever stop to think that she's lying or leading us into a trap."

"That's where trust comes in."

"Trust, I don't trust that furball and…"

He shut up when the werewolves around him began to growl. The Doctor gave him a smug look when he saw the realization dawn on him that he was surrounded by adult werewolves and the fear that came with it.

"Now, stand there and stop being a brat, Brat," the Doctor said, letting go of his shirt. "She's come back, you'll see."

He smiled when Shen walked up the stairs after five minutes of waiting. Behind her was a tall, thin Asian man that resembled Shen in the face. The Doctor figured this was her father.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the Asian man said.

"We're here to return Shen to ya," Rose said. "We're fellow lycan. Well, except for him and him," she added, pointing to the Doctor and Brat. "But this man is with us, the other's just tagging along."

"I do have a magical pelt that will allow me to become lycan though," the Doctor said.

He frowned when the Asian man began to sniff them. He looked at Shen and she took his hand and smiled. The Doctor smiled back at her and watched while the man finished sniffing Rose and nodding.

"You're telling the truth, you are all lycan except for the two you indicated," the man said, stepping back. "I am Liu. I'm glad you brought my daughter back to us. We had no idea where she went after she was stolen from us. Did you find the person who abused her?"

Liu growled the moment everyone gave Brat a pointed look. The Doctor's arm shot out between Brat and Liu when he tried to attack him.

"No, wait, this isn't the way. He deserves a fair trial," the Doctor said.

"You're not even a lycan, what makes you think you can tell us how to mete out justice to those who would harm us?"

"Because my friend back there is a lycan and her and her friends accepted me into the pack and because I don't want blood on me after you rip him limb from limb."

"Is this true, is he a part of your pack?" Liu asked Max.

"Yes, he is. He's not," Max said, pointing to Brat.

"Doctor, control your slaves and stop them from running their mouths."

"SLAVES!"

Brat recoiled when Liu snarled the word and the Doctor smirked at the fear on Brat's face.

"They're not my slaves, they're my friends and litter mates," the Doctor said. "I said that because I wanted you here with us to face justice from the lycans. But that doesn't mean rip him to shreds here and now. He needs to be treated fairly."

Liu gave the Doctor a suspicious look. Rose stepped forward.

"Please listen to him. I know he's not really lycan but he can be trusted. All we want is to help," she said.

Liu looked them over and then looked at his daughter.

"Are they your friends?" he asked his daughter in the lycan language.

To the Doctor's relief, Shen nodded and Liu relaxed. He glowered at Brat and Brat recoiled from the darkness in his eyes.

"Very well, we will take you to Howling Hallow and we will delay this one's execution until he can be tried fairly. But I warn you, if any of you try anything, I will rip you all to shreds."

"How can you do that? We're underground and the moon isn't full," Britney said.

"Moon? I have no need of the moon to change."

Before their eyes, he shapeshifted into his wolf form. They were amazed when he did it in a few seconds without any pain or discomfort.

"Wow, that's amazing," Max said. "I wish we could do that."

"Follow me," Liu said in a gruff voice as he beckoned to them.

He and Shen went down the stairs. The Doctor gave Brat a rough shove and everyone followed him when he went down the steps with a grumble.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Wow," Rose said.

They walked into a large cavern that was lit by flaming torches. The walls were filled with rock crystals that sparkled in the firelight. The walls were filled with them enhancing the glow of the torches. The Doctor looked at Rose when she inhaled deeply. He did the same but couldn't smell anything except slightly stale air.

"You don't smell it?" Rose said to him.

"Um…not sure, what am I'm supposed to smell?"

"Other lycan."

"Um, I smell old air, is that why lycan smells like?"

"No, it's a musky sort of scent. I like it. Your nose can't pick it up?"

The Doctor inhaled deeply and shook his head when he couldn't smell anything resembling musk.

"Maybe your nose isn't hardwired to pick up the scent," Rose said with a shrug when he told her he still couldn't smell it. "It must be how we can tell who's a lycan and who isn't. Liu did it to us."

"Apparently that's something a Time Lord isn't capable of."

"Gee, I thought you were capable of everything," Rose teased.

The Doctor grinned when she stuck her tongue between her teeth.

"No, sadly I can't do everything," the Doctor said with a wistful sigh.

"Well, I could give you that ability," Rose teased, wiggling her fingers.

The Doctor raised his eyes when she mimed scratching and biting his arm.

"No thanks, I enjoy being able to control my lycan metamorphosis," he said.

"Blast, I figured you might enjoy running together in the moonlight," Rose said.

"I do. That's what the pelt is for," the Doctor said.

"Chicken."

Rose giggled when the Doctor gave her a playful swat. They walked deeper into the cavern and after twenty minutes Liu led them through a tunnel. They emerged into another cavern but this one showed signs of habitation, both in the cave and in some of the tunnels going away from it. Liu stopped them and changed back into this werewolf form. They listened while he howled loudly for a couple of minutes. Then suddenly others began streaming into the cave. Max and his friends stared in awe as the people kept coming. Finally, about fifty people stood inside the cavern, staring at Liu and the newcomers. The Doctor listened while Liu told everyone who they were and what was happening in the lycan language. The Doctor gave Brat a sideways glance when he mentioned what Brat done and the majority of the lycan growled at him. Brat tried to back away so he could run but Liu grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Don't go anywhere or you'll die at the hands of my people, Doctor or no Doctor," he growled at him.

"Please, I ask for mercy," Brat said.

"Mercy? Did you show my daughter mercy when you beat and abused her? We are not dogs that you can kick around, we are lycans!"

"Shen!"

Everyone watched while a young Asian woman with shoulder length dark hair and almond eyes broke from the crowd. Shen ran towards her and the woman fell to the floor, catching Shen in a tight embrace while she cried. The Doctor looked at Liu.

"How long has she been missing?" he asked.

"Nearly five months," Liu said. "We searched in the village up above but there was no sign of her. We searched everywhere so where was this thing hiding her?"

"I'm with a traveling circus, I was offworld until now," Brat said.

Brat flinched when there was a collective gasp from the lycans and a menacing growl rising from everyone's throat. The Doctor started to intervene but Liu calmed them.

"This man will have a fair hearing and we'll decide his fate there," Liu said. "We will show him that even though we can transform into animals, we aren't savage and mindless like the werewolves he imagines us to be. We will imprison him until that time and no one is to harm him."

"What about them?" a female lycan said, pointing to the others.

"These are fellow lycan, except for him," Liu said, laying his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "But he is their adopted litter mate so they are our guests and will be treated as such."

The Doctor was impressed when he obtained a mutual agreement.

"Are you the leader?" he asked Liu.

"One of them. We have a council and I'm on it. I'm highly respected though and people will listen to me so you don't have to worry about your safety and that goes for the prisoner," he said, giving Brat a pointed look. "Be thankful I gave that order because I feel like tearing you to bits right now."

Brat swallowed hard but allowed himself to be led away, fearing the collective wrath if he resisted. Once he was out of sight, Rachel came up beside the Doctor.

"Um…I don't know if this is the right time to ask," she said. "But we were wondering if you'd let some of us stay here with all of you."

"You want to become a part of Howling Hallow?"

Everyone nodded except for Rose.

"I don't," she said. "I'm staying with the Doctor."

"Well, I have no problem with it but I'll have to speak with the council. You don't want to stay with us?" he said to Rose.

"Nah, this is my mate," Rose said, wrapping her arms around the Doctor.

Liu nodded.

"You did mention that you had the ability to change into a lycan without being one. How do you do that? Are you a shapeshifter?" Liu asked the Doctor.

"No, I purchased a pelt from someone at the fair. He claimed it could turn me into a lycan if I wore it around my waist during the full moon and as hard as it is to believe, it works."

"Can I see it?" Liu said.

The Doctor took it out of his pocket and gave it to him. Liu held it in his hands, held it up to his nose and gritted his teeth.

"Did that bastard sell you this?" he said, pointing in the direction they took Brat.

"No, it was a different man," the Doctor said.

"This is an actual lycan pelt. We had several members of our pack slaughtered and skinned. They were left to rot in the woods a few months ago. I see now why they were skinned. Will you allow the council to examine this as evidence?"

"Yes, but I don't know if Brat did this," the Doctor said, pointing to the pelt.

"Yes, but the council must know. They must know what the humans are doing to our kind."

The Doctor told him to take it and Liu told everyone to follow him so they could meet the council in person.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Liu took the Doctor and Rose to a small opening and led them into a small cave like room. Liu asked them to wait and he and Shen left with the others. Rose looked around. There was a mattress in the corner with a white duvet and pillow. Next to it was a small wooden table with a lit candle, a few books and some papers on it. Other than that, there wasn't much.

"Reminds me of Fraggle Rock," Rose said, looking around. "The Fraggles lived in cave rooms like this."

"I wonder how long they've been here," the Doctor said. "The walls are smooth for the most part. I'm wondering if they carved these cave rooms out of the rock. Seems too smooth to be natural."

"Doctor, about Liu. I'll vouch for ya if they say anything about you using that pelt. You didn't know it came from one of their own people," Rose said.

"Thanks," the Doctor said, smiling. "However, I'm sure they'll make the argument that if I was able to change, I should have known it was a genuine lycan pelt."

"All the same, I will convince them that you meant no harm. You were just trying to join us," Rose said. "I would have done the same if you were a natural lycan and I had the pelt. Brat is the enemy, not you, and I'm going to tell them that."

"Thanks," the Doctor said. "Perhaps Shen will speak up as well. She seems to like me."

"Too bad you can't stay here," Rose said. "You'd make a good lycan."

"Says the woman who hasn't been a lycan that long," the Doctor teased.

"It's instinct. I can think like a lycan now and I know that you'd make a good one. I think that's why Shen likes you so much."

"On the other hand, maybe I'm just a likable bloke," the Doctor said.

Rose smiled at that and drew near to him. The Doctor smiled when she put her hand on his cheek.

"I won't let them hurt you if they plan to punish you for the pelt," Rose said.

"Will you throw yourself in front of the lycan and plead for my life?"

"Um…if I have to. Why? You want to see me do that?"

"Might be interesting. I've never seen you beg for anything, let alone me. I wanna see if you get all soppy and melodramatic and cheesy as you plead for mercy."

"I'm doing it to save your life, not entertain you."

"Why can't it be both?"

He sniggered when she swatted his arm. He stroked her hair while he looked around the room. Then he walked over to the table, picked up the stack of papers and studied them.

"What's that then?" Rose said, walking over to him.

"Nothing much, just letters," the Doctor said. "Someone named Laura is living here and these are love letters from her boyfriend."

He set them back down on the table. Rose looked over at the doorway and the Doctor followed her gaze. He smiled when Shen entered the room and walked over to him.

"Aha, my bestest buddy has come back for me now," the Doctor said as Shen gave him a shy smile. "See, I'm loved. N'yah, n'yah."

Shen tugged on the Doctor's hand and walked back towards the door. The Doctor followed her and Rose followed behind him. She led the Doctor through the corridor to a larger room where Liu and several others sat behind a long wooden table. The pelt was spread out on the table in front of them and Rose sighed.

"I have a feeling you're here to explain that," Rose said, coming up beside the Doctor and pointing to the pelt.

Shen let go of the Doctor's hand and walked over to her father. She sat down beside him and he patted her head before he and the three men and two women focused their attention on the Doctor.

"This is a friendly meeting to determine what has been going on," Liu said. "These people are the leaders of the lycan community."

The Doctor nodded hello to them and Rose stepped forward.

"About the pelt. He didn't know it came from one of you," Rose said to them. "He wore it to be like us. He wouldn't have put it on if he'd known where it came from."

"We surmised as much," an elderly man said. "I am Nicodemus. I am the head council member. You are not like the other one, we have guessed that much. You came here in order to bring Councilor Liu's daughter back to her, not to murder and enslave us as the other one has done. We are not here to condemn you, only to learn the truth. Where did you purchase this pelt?"

"From a vendor at a funfair. Shen was one of the attractions in the freak show that was a part of this fair," the Doctor said.

"I'm sorry, you are…" a young blonde haired woman said.

"I am the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler."

"I am Sylvia. These humans were not part of the village then?"

"I think they were a traveling fair. Brat said that he took Shen off world for a time before bringing her back," the Doctor said. "We found her in a cage near the back of it."

The councilors talked silently amongst themselves for a moment before they turned their attention back to the Doctor.

"Shen has been missing for nearly five months. The murder of David occurred around the same time," Nicodemus said.

"The pelt was a part of David?" the Doctor said.

"Yes. We were driven underground by the non-lycan and we sent out scouting parties from time to time to keep watch over them. David was on one of the scouting missions when he disappeared. We found his naked body in a field several days later. We saw bruising on the flesh but we had no idea he'd been skinned. The gods only know what happened to the rest of the pelt."

"But the pelt actually has the power to change people into lycan?" the Doctor said.

"It seems so. We're still not completely sure how the change occurs but we do have the ability to change at will. Liu told us that your friends can't do that, that their change is lunar based. We've heard tales of lycan who can only change with the full moon but we'd never met any until now. Are you sure that the pelt only changes you during the full moon? Or did you just put it on and assume it would do that?"

"Um…not sure, really. I just assumed that since it was the full moon that the pelt was changing me into the wolf," the Doctor said.

"Put it on and try it again," Nicodemus said, gesturing to the pelt. "The moon isn't visible down here so can you change into your lycan form using just the pelt?"

The Doctor glanced at Rose and walked up to the table. Everyone watched while he picked up the pelt and tied it around his waist. He then stepped back from the table. He wondered how he was going to do this and then decided that perhaps the desire to become a lycan was enough to start the change. He began to think really hard about becoming a werewolf. He heard Rose gasp seconds after he started to feel the change.

"Oh my God," Rose said while she watched the Doctor change into a werewolf in front of her eyes.

The Doctor finished the change and walked around in a circle while he looked at himself. He finished his inspection and looked at the council.

"You see, this proves that it definitely belongs to a lycan," Liu said, pointing to the Doctor. "Someone, either with the fair or the villagers, hunted David down and skinned him so they could take the pelt. The pelt ended up with the fair and they sold it to the Doctor. Shen here was treated like a freak and a slave. That's how the humans see us. We're either pets to be displayed or beasts to be skinned and sold. I'm surprised they didn't sell all of David off for medicinal cures."

The Doctor looked at himself while he tried to figure out how to change back. He tried wishing to be himself again and breathed a sigh of relief when his body began to change back to its normal self.

"I'm jealous, wish I could do that," Rose said.

"I wish you could do it as well. That comes in quite handy when you can control the change," the Doctor said as he untied the pelt. "However, I don't want to be disrespectful and wear the skin of your fellow lycan, so here you go," he added, laying the pelt back on the table.

He stepped back and frowned when the council members gazed at him quietly.

"Honestly, I meant no disrespect when I wore the pelt," the Doctor said, trying to guess what they were thinking. "I thought it was rubbish at first until it worked and then I used it so I could run with my fellow pack members."

"And yet, you chose to stay non-lycan. You did not want the change?" Sylvia said.

"Well, to be honest, in my line of work, it could be a bit risky changing back and forth," the Doctor said. "I'm already hoping that Rose doesn't wolf out on me at inappropriate times."

"Your change is lunar based?" Nicodemus asked Rose.

"I think so, yeah. Actually…the person that changed me was alien; he was possessing a young boy."

The council members were shocked at that and conferred silently for a moment.

"The lycan was inside the boy?" Liu finally said to Rose.

"Yeah. Somehow the alien possessed the boy and was living inside him and when the moon came out, the alien changed the boy into a werewolf."

"We've never heard of a species of lycan that can possess someone's body," Nicodemus said.

"Well…" the Doctor said. "It could have also been a shapeshifter, pretending to be a wolf. The people who brought it to the house Rose and I were staying at worshiped the wolf, so perhaps it was shapeshifting into one and using the humans to his advantage."

The council members glanced at each other.

"People who worship wolves?" Sylvia said. "I've heard of humans killing us but not worshiping us. How intriguing. You must tell us more. But for the moment, we wish to speak to your companions. We wanted to speak to them separately since they're also asking to live among us. If you don't mind going back to your quarters, we will send for you when we're ready to speak with you again."

"Shen, will you take them back to their room?" Liu asked his daughter.

Shen nodded. The Doctor smiled when she walked over to him and took his hand. Leaving the pelt on the table, the Doctor and Rose followed Shen out of the room while the councilors spoke in hushed voices about what they had just learned.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"So now we wait," the Doctor said as Shen left him and Rose alone in the cave.

"At least they took it well," Rose said. "They're not gonna execute you for wearing David's skin.

"Well, to be honest, it would be a bit extreme for them to kill me since I had no idea the pelt belonged to a real lycan. I've seen so-called magical items before and that pelt could have been one."

"Do you think they'll let us leave now that we've found out where they live?"

"They better let us leave," the Doctor said. "I have no intention of staying here. I have planets to see and people to meet. If Max and his friends want to stay, that's fine, but don't come me in."

He sighed and stretched out on the floor. Putting his hands behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling while Rose went over to the bed and sat down on it. A half hour passed and then Rachel appeared at the cave entrance. The Doctor sat up and gave her a warm smile.

"Did you speak to the elders then?" he asked.

"Yeah. They said we could stay if we wanted to," Rachel said, coming inside the room.

"Good. I'm glad you lot can find a home here away from hunters," the Doctor said.

"They're still wondering about you though," Rachel said, sitting down beside him.

"Me and Rose?" the Doctor said.

"No, not Rose. Just you. They said that you told them you have no desire to be a full time lycan and they thought it strange that we adopted you when you aren't even gonna become one of us. I said that you helped us and in return we made you our litter mate. They want to speak to you again though. They asked me to come and get you."

"Rose as well?" the Doctor said, gesturing to her.

"No, just you."

"Ought-oh," Rose said.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," the Doctor said, getting up from the floor. "They probably want to know more about the funfair and what we found. I'll be back before you can chase your tails."

He left the room and walked back to the meeting room. When he got there, the elders were still sitting in their places but Max and the others were gone.

"You wanted to see me?" the Doctor said as he entered the room.

"Yes," Nicodemus said. "We wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Yes?"

"We wish you to go to the humans and act as our representative," Sylvia said. "We don't want to hurt the colonists but at the same time we want to live on the surface again. We have just as much right to the planet as they do."

"I'd be happy to do that," the Doctor said. "I'm glad to hear that you're trying diplomacy rather than wolfing out and slaughtering them."

"We are not the threat here," a male elder said, "we never have been. We're interested in peace and we'd be willing to share the land with the colonists if they'll let us live in peace."

"Then perhaps I can bring my friend, Rose, with me?" the Doctor said. "She can help me."

"Granted," Nicodemus said.

"And perhaps you can come as well?" the Doctor said to Nicodemus. "I can negotiate but it'd look better if someone from Howling Hallow came with me. You're the ones who want this peace, not me. I'm just helping."

"Very well, I will go with you," Nicodemus said. "But are you sure you don't want to become lycan? We have welcomed your friends into our society and you and Rose are welcome as well."

"I appreciate that but I'm a Time Lord. My job is to travel time and space and Rose travels with me. As long as you welcome my friends into your midst, we'll be happy just traveling on."

"Very well," Nicodemus said, rising. "With the council's permission, I will go and prepare myself for this diplomatic mission and we will leave for the surface."

Everyone else nodded their agreement and Nicodemus walked towards the Doctor.

"Come, my friend. We will get Rose and then you can wait while I change my clothes and prepare myself," he said.

The Doctor nodded and followed him out of the room. They walked back to the room and the Doctor told Rose to follow him. Rose bid Rachel goodbye and followed him. While they walked, the Doctor filled her in on what was happening.

"I'm glad they're trying to talk some sense into the villagers," Rose said while they walked. "D'ya think it'll work though?"

"One way to find out," the Doctor said with a shrug. "I just hope they don't shoot us on sight."

"Yes, that is my hope as well," Nicodemus said. "Especially since they hunted David down and slaughtered him."

"We don't know that," the Doctor said. "I bought that pelt at the fair so it may have been Brat and others who work for the fair who did that. The villagers may have had nothing to do with that."

"I hope you're right. It'd make things easier if we know they aren't trying to hunt us down. Wait here."

They stopped outside one of the rooms and the Doctor leaned against the wall beside the doorway. They waited while Nicodemus changed into a plain brown robe with a black sash around his waist and leather sandals for his feet. He then riffled through a large chest and pulled out several sheets of paper. Once he was finished with that, he went back outside and announced he was ready. The Doctor nodded and he and Rose followed Nicodemus back up to the surface.

They reached the surface and walked through the woods back to the dirt path. The sun was coming up and the air was crisp and cold. It took some time to walk back to the village and by the time they reached it, the air had warmed up and the sun was on its way into the sky. There were a few people outside the homes, going about their business. The Doctor glanced at his friends and the three of them stepped out of the forest and headed for a large, muscular man who was pulling a cart filled with milk jugs. The Doctor called to him to stop and he halted and smiled warmly at them.

"Good morning, need some milk?" he said, pointing to the milk jugs.

"No, actually, we need to see the person or persons who run this town," the Doctor said.

"That would be Mayor Tartar. What business do you have with him?"

"We are from Howling Hallow and we want to negotiate for peace and for the lycan's right to live peacefully on the surface without being hunted or tormented by the humans," the Doctor said.

The man's eyes bulged at the mention of Howling Hallow and he backed up several paces in fear.

"We're not gonna hurt ya," Rose said. "We just want to talk to the mayor. Please can you tell us where he's at? We only want peace."

The man gave them a wary look and stood there for a moment. Finally, he nodded and motioned for them to follow him.

"I hope you know that this peace talk of yours might not be successful," he said as they walked to the end of town. "Not many people want the werewolves living beside them."

"Not many people know the true nature of the werewolves," the Doctor said. "That's why they fear them but we hope to dispel that fear and show the townspeople that we won't hurt them."

"That's honorable but I'm just giving you fair warning," the man said. "But follow me, the mayor's house is this way."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

"Wow, look at that," the Doctor said to Rose as they neared the end of the road. "The mayor gets the biggest house around. I guess that's one of the perks of being your lordship or your excellency or your mayorship or whatever you call Mayor Tartar."

He nudged Rose in the ribs.

"Wonder if he sells Tartar sauce on the side, get it, eh?" he said, poking Rose in the ribs.

"Will you behave?" Rose said with feigned exasperation.

"What will I get if I behave?" the Doctor said.

"Um…banana tree."

"Ooo, in that case, perfect angel, me," the Doctor said.

They stopped outside the house and the milkman told them to wait while he told Tartar what was going on. He went inside the house and the Doctor put his hand against the wooden frame of the building. The house was three stories with white wooden walls and brown wood frame. The windows each had black wooden shutters on them, all of them opened up. The door was made of heavy oak with a brass knocker and a peephole. The Doctor used the knocker and tried to look in the peephole.

"Behave or you don't get that banana tree," Rose teased while the Doctor used the knocker again.

"P'shaw, I have tons of trees on the TARDIS. Wow, use of alliteration without meaning to. I'm good. Anyway, where is Tartar Sauce, I want a word with his Sauciness," he said, trying the knocker again.

He tried looking in the peephole and stepped back when the door was flung open and a short, dumpy elderly lady glared at him. She had her white hair back in a bun and was wearing wire framed glasses.

"Oh, are you Mayor Tartar? I was under the impression you were a man. My bad," he said to the lady.

"I am Gwendolyn, I am the housekeeper. Will you please quit knocking on the door?" she said angrily.

"But we need to see his Tartarness."

Rose laughed when Gwendolyn slammed the door in his face.

"Oi! Bad form!" the Doctor said, using the knocker and knocking as loudly as he could. "That was rude, Housekeeper Gwendolyn!"

Rose stepped in front of him and stopped him from knocking.

"And that was even ruder. I thought you were on my side, Lycan Rose," he said.

"D'ya want to make him mad at ya?"

"Who? Tartar Sauce? He's probably already against us because we're lycans so what's the difference? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?" he bellowed up at a second story window. "YOU ARE AGAINST US! THE UNIVERSE IS AGAINST ME! I AM PERSECUTED!"

"I think I'll go now before the silver bullets start comin'," Rose said, walking away.

She gasped when the Doctor seized her around the middle and pulled her to him.

"No, I need my cuddly wolf to keep me company. Stay. I'll be good," he said.

"I doubt that very much," Rose said as she leaned back against the Doctor.

A few minutes later, Gwendolyn opened the door and gave the Doctor a dirty look.

"Housekeeping finished then?" he said to her.

"Come inside, the mayor will see you now," Gwendolyn said in a terse voice.

"Ah, thanks so much. Awfully decent of ya," the Doctor drawled as he and Rose stepped inside.

Gwendolyn slammed the door behind them and walked away, muttering about how rude they were under her breath. The interior was richly furnished with expensive, polished wooden furniture, tapestries and several oil paintings. In the room off to their right was a large marble fireplace. Above the marble mantle was a huge oil painting of a fat, balding gentlemen who was scowling while he looked out of his gold frame.

"Yup, must be a dream job to be the mayor here," the Doctor said as they stepped into the room. "I love the décor, especially all the smiling happy faces in the portraits," he added, pointing to the scowling man.

Rose sensed someone behind her and turned to see the man in the portrait scowling at them from the doorway. The Doctor turned, feigned shock as he gazed at the man and turned his gaze to the painting before he looked at the man again.

"Oh my God, the paintings come to life like in Harry Potter," the Doctor said in a hushed voice while Rose tried not to laugh.

"I am Mayor Tartar," the man said, giving them a distasteful look. "You werewolves wanted to meet with me?"

"Indeed," the Doctor said as he stepped up beside Rose. "The little lady and I have been sent as ambassadors for the lycan population in Howling Hallow. We were commanded by the elders to come and speak with you concerning the sharing of space. You see, according to our furry brethren, they were here first before you lot chased them underground. And that means they have a right to have their land back as well as coexist with you. So if you would just hear us out before you skin us or shoot us or throw tartar sauce on us."

Rose groaned when the mayor gave him a confused look.

"Look. We come in peace," she said, half afraid he would order Gwendolyn to toss them out the door before the peace talk got started. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Preferably not a cage in the funfair, mind," the Doctor said, giving the mayor a pointed look.

"I have a meeting room upstairs, follow me," the mayor said.

Rose and the Doctor followed him. Rose kept giving the Doctor dirty looks when he poked her ribs all the way up the stairs.

"You're going the right way for a smack bottom," Rose said when they were near the top of the stairs.

"I beg your pardon?" Tartar said, looking over his shoulder.

"Nothing!" Rose said quickly while the Doctor shook with silent laughter, "I was talking to my friend."

When they reached the first floor, the Doctor looked around for any sign of the milkman. He wondered if perhaps this was a trap and the milkman had been ordered to hide. He figured he could have walked past the mayor and gone out when he was standing in the doorway but he'd been alive too long not to consider every possibility. Especially since he knew he and Rose were already being discriminated against.

The mayor led them to an oak door and opened it. Inside was a large, long wooden table with several high backed chairs positioned around it. There was one large window and beside the window was a tapestry. The tapestry had a shield in the center of the red background and on the shield were a starburst and a crown. The Doctor figured it was some kind of seal of office for the mayor. The mayor told them to sit and the Doctor sat in the chair closest to the door while Rose sat on his left. He watched warily while the mayor closed the door and walked to the head of the table.

"Now, shall we get down to business?" the mayor said, sitting down and scooting the chair up to the table.


End file.
